Deekonda Ravishanker Nalgonda

Tensionprevailed at Mahatma Gandhi University (MGU) here on Thursday late night after women students staged protest over acute drinking water shortage and lack of basic facilities in the university hostel.

A large number of hostel residents at the Vice-Chancellor’s Guest House, complaining that they had been suffering due to inadequate water supply and poor hostel amenities. The students said they were facing severe hardship because there was not enough water for drinking or even for using the washrooms.

According to the protesting students, university authorities had diverted the water meant for the women’s hostel to ongoing construction works on the campus, leaving hostel inmates without sufficient water. They alleged that the decision had created a serious crisis and made hostel life unbearable.

The situation escalated when police entered the university campus late at night, drawing strong objections from the students and various student organisations. They questioned the need for a police presence instead of addressing the grievances of the hostel residents and accused the university administration of neglecting their genuine concerns. The students expressed anger over the alleged failure of the Vice-Chancellor and the Registrar to respond to repeated complaints.

They announced that they would lay siege to the Vice-Chancellor’s office and warned that the protest would continue until the water crisis and other hostel-related issues were resolved.Activists of the ABVP also extended their support to the protesting women students, demanding that the university administration immediately restore the water supply and provide the basic facilities promised to hostel residents.