Sixteen Backward Classes associations have alleged that the government was neglecting welfare hostels and residential schools in the State, leading to increasing incidents of inmates falling sick and food poisoning due to unhygienic conditions and lack of proper upkeep, resulting even in snake bites.
A student succumbed to snake bite at BC Welfare Boys hostel at Birkur in Kamareddy district on Saturday. Hundreds of hostel inmates were hospitalised in recent weeks due to food poisoning and unhygienic conditions making them fall sick with fever and other health problems.
In a statement issued here on Saturday, National BC Welfare Association president R. Krishnaiah, convenor G. Krishna, executive president Lalkrishna Prasad, N. Venkatesh, V. Ramakrishna, A. Ramkoti, C. Rajender, T.R. Chander, T. Rajkumar, G. Mallesh Yadav, G. Ananthaiah, S. Ashok and others, of different BC bodies said that such incidents had taken place in Adilabad, Karimnagar, Nizamabad, Khammam and Warangal, too.
They requested Chief Minister K. Chandrasekhar Rao to hold a high-level review meeting on the conditions in welfare hostels and residential schools and take remedial measures to prevent the situation getting worse. Lack of basic amenities in rented buildings, many of them not having proper window panes, mosquito nets, bathrooms, toilets resulting in unhygienic conditions and making the inmates fall sick.
A total of about 2.7 lakh students were housed in 2,144 SC, ST and BC hostels and another 6.5 lakh students in 874 SC, ST, BC and Minorities residential schools and it was the government responsibility to provide them with quality boarding facility, nutritious food, hygienic conditions and periodic health check-up, the BC bodies suggested.
