Welfare hostels shut as bills pile up

Hanumkonda: The failure to provide adequate facilities for welfare hostels in Hanumkonda district has left underprivileged students in a dire situation. Despite the government’s promises to allocate monthly budgets for student welfare, the hostels continue to struggle with unpaid bills and inadequate resources.

Wardens are burdened with unpaid rents for hostel buildings over the past ten months, leading landlords to lock the premises. Traders supplying essentials such as vegetables, milk, fruits, and eggs have not been paid, causing financial difficulties and impacting the quality of supplies.

Hanumkonda district houses 15 welfare hostels for backward-class students, including six college hostels and nine pre-metric hostels, accommodating 1,314 students. Among them, 544 are pre-metric students, and 770 are college students. Most hostels operate in rented buildings, barring the boys’ hostel at Gokul Nagar and two others in Parakala, which use government premises.

The monthly expenditure for the six college hostels amounts to Rs 12 lakh, with outstanding bills totalling Rs 96 lakh over the past eight months. Similarly, pre-metric hostels face unpaid bills amounting to Rs 60 lakh, bringing the combined total to over Rs 1.5 crore.

Deputy Director of Welfare J Ram Reddy, however, claimed that all necessary facilities are being provided without disruption. “Though some bills remain pending, we are ensuring students’ needs are met,” he said.