The students of the Model Hostel for SC and ST students at Vellayambalam in the city can now heave a sigh of relief. Minister for the Welfare of Scheduled Castes A P Anil Kumar told ‘Express’ that the Government will not opt for shifting the inmates of block-II of the hostel to Mannanthala in the suburbs.
‘’The district office of the SC Department had prepared such a proposal for conducting repair works in the hostel building. However, the Government does not want to put the students in difficulty,’’ said Anil Kumar.
Express had the other day reported that the SC Department district office’s plan to shift the inmates in the name of repair works in the hostel building had led to resentment among the student community. The students had alleged that the proposal was part of a larger plot to shift the decades-old hostel from the heart of the city to the suburbs. They furthered their claim by adding that there were several rooms lying vacant in the block-I of the hostel, where inmates of the other block could be accommodated during the works.
The students who launched a poster campaign against the move had planned intense protests if the department went ahead with the proposal.
The inmates welcomed the Minister’s decision with joy. ‘’We are happy to learn that he could understand our difficulty. If we were shifted, it could have affected our monthly budget,’’ said a student hailing from a northern district.
‘’We are happy that we could continue to travel comfortably to our colleges and the University Library and Central Library. Many of us belong to poor families who cannot afford the daily travel to Mannanthala,’’ said another PG student.
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