A peek into life of students in hostels

Are they safe, healthy and free?

Mumbai, a city that attracts people from all over the globe, draws a large number of students with its magical wand. Students from different states, cities, villages and regions of India come to Mumbai to study and make a career.

To survive and maintain the quality of living, these students opt to live in hostels rather than residing in expensive Paying Guests (PG) rooms or rental apartments. Most of the hostels are also affiliated with various universities and colleges present in the city which makes it easier for the students to carry on with their career. But how are the lives of these students in these hostels? Is it healthy, hygienic and safe? Well more importantly, is it free?

Most of the students staying in these hostels complained about hygiene, cleanliness and quality of food. A student from Sant Eknath Government Boys Hostel at Chembur (east) said, “There is no hygiene in our hostel. The mess food given to us is of poor quality, there are drug peddlers around the hostel as the hostel is situated in a below middle class locality and the toilets are dirty.”

There are over 120 boys in this hostel who are staying for free as it is a government hostel. Another student added, “Just because we do not pay any fee we cannot demand much. We have tried complaining to the police several times regarding the drug addicts as these addicts often throw stones at the hostel and fight with us but nothing has been done.”

The freedom of students is challenged at the hostel of ICT (Institute of Chemical Technology) at Matunga. A student said, “We are treated as kids. Every time when we have to go out of the hostel in the evening or for more than a day we have to write and give a valid reason. And most of the times, this so called valid reason is not accepted. We have to literally write the name of the person and the place where we are going.”

While, students of technical colleges staying at Government Colleges Hostel (GCH) at Churchgate and Savitridevi Phule Mahila Chhatralaya (SPHC) at Charni Road face issues of accommodation procedure and cleanliness respectively.

A student of GCH said, “The accommodation procedure is very tedious and takes a lot of time. If any student has come from another state or city, he has to stay at a different place till he completes this lengthy procedure.” While a student of SPHC said, “Cleanliness is the major issue as the washrooms and hostel area is unclean.”

Exorbitant fees are the major hurdle faced by students of Pandita Ramabai Girls Hostel at Gamdevi which has a curfew timing of 8.15 pm. A student said, “Somehow we all have adjusted to the curfew timing but the fees are too high for a normal middle class student. The hostel charges Rs 32,000 per semester (which comprises six months). The hostel is a really good place but charging such high fees is unacceptable.”

To survive, students opt to live in hostels rather than reside in expensive Paying Guests (PG) rooms or rental apartments