Ladies hostel lies unutilised

BHUBANESWAR: Some things are stranger than fiction. A women’s hostel having capacity to accommodate 100 students in the tribal-dominated Sundargarh district has remained unutilised since 2005 for want of  electricity connection. The Ministry of Tribal Affairs provided  Rs. 50 lakh during 2000-01 to the Project Administrator, Integrated Tribal Development Agency (ITDA), Sundargarh, for construction of a 100-seat ladies hostel for scheduled category students in the Government Women’s College, Sundargarh. The construction of the hostel building was completed in March 2005 and possession of the building was given to the college principal after four months. The principal took possession of it without supply of electricity. The principal was under the impression that the electricity requirement of the new hostel building could be met through external connection from the existing two hostels. As the existing supply lines of the two hostels could not sustain the excess load of the new hostel, the principal requested the executive engineer of WESCO’s Sundargarh division for fresh connection to the new building. The power utility asked for a deposit of Rs. 1.81 lakh in August 2006 and the principal forwarded the matter to the ITDA project administrator in March 2007. Following more demand for hostel accommodation from the 2005-06 academic session, the principal made several requests to the ITDA authority to facilitate power supply to the new hostel building. However, the project was undone as the electricity supply was not part of the original estimate. This came to notice of the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) during audit of the accounts of the women’s college in July last year. Because of the non-functioning of the new hostel, the existing two hostels with a capacity for 150 were overcrowded and nearly 180 students have been accommodated since 2005, the report said. Though the demand for hostel accommodation is increasing every year, the college authorities have not been able to resolve the power connection issue for the last five years. Meanwhile, cracks have appeared on the roof and walls leading to water seepage. The building is not covered under the maintenance of the Public Works Department as the ITDA has not furnished details of the building, including the building plan, estimate and sanction order to the Government.