“We have no place to go”
Government order to vacate hostels creates panic in Hyderabad. We talks to some of those affected.
With the sudden spurt in the number of people testing positive for the novel coronavirus in the city over the last two days, a feeling of panic has set in. People living in hostels have been asked to vacate immediately. While some have left the city to move back to their home towns, others are finding the situation a challenge.
DC talks to a few of those who have been placed in a tricky situation by the order asking hostel owners to get inmates to leave.
Sabitha Sathian a journalist living in a hostel at Mallapur says, “We were asked to vacate our hostel last night. I did not know what to do. People from our hostel asked for a day’s time so that we could find another place to live. Though they agreed to this request, a few of my hostel mates packed their bags and left.”
Riya, who works at a health centre at Mind Space and lives in a hostel at Madhapur, was also asked to vacate her hostel. “After the news broke that all those living in hostels were being asked to move out, there was definitely panic. Our hostel owner has asked those who come from nearby areas to leave immediately while others were given a deadline of two days. About 80 percent of the hostel has been vacated. I work in Hyderabad but I hail from Haryana. My parents are asking me to come home, but then the public transport to my place has been banned, and that’s another problem. If I remain in the hostel, I cannot get food or other facilities. The situation is quite difficult for me”, says an anxious Riya.
Amulya, a bank employee who stays in a hostel at Ashok Nagar, is filled with worry too. “In the place where I stay, there are a lot of students, and all of them have vacated the hostel. Since I am a working woman and I cannot move to a faroff place as I need to report to work daily, things have become difficult for me. There are orders from the GHMC that all hostel owners most clear their hostels of inmates immediately or they will be fined. I have been given two days’ time to vacate. A few working women from a nearby hostel and I have decided to rent an apartment and stay there till further developments”, she says.
Students are also facing problems, as they too have been asked to vacate hostels. Tejaswi Uppalapati from Guntur is preparing for her civil services examination at Hyderabad. She has been asked to leave the hostel immediately. “It is difficult for us to come all the way from our home towns and study for the competitive exams here, but since the Government has issued orders to vacate hostels, we have no choice. My preparation is disturbed. I wish, instead of asking the people to vacate, they maintain hygiene in the hostels, which could stop the spread of the virus”, she says.
Another MBBS student Sahitya Ramatenki who was asked to vacate her hostel said, “It has been a personal inconvience for us but since it is our professional duty we had to vacate the hostel which will benifit everyone. I feel happy to do that little bit from my end.”
Even as measures to curb the spread of the dreaded COVID-19 are placing people in practical difficulties, every one of us continues to hope that we and our loved ones remain safe, wherever we are.
I work in Hyderabad but I hail from Haryana. My parents are asking me to come home, but then the public transport to my place has been banned, and that’s another problem.