Students and teachers face a harrowing time entering Sri Arvind Mahila College, as residents dump domestic waste at the entrance of the institute.

The residents of Kazipur locality dispose domestic waste wrapped in polybags. Sources said there used to be a dustbin near the college gate earlier. However, the residents are yet to change their habit now that the dustbin has been removed. According to college principal Asha Singh, this has become a perennial problem for the premier institute under Magadh University.

She said Patna Municipal Corporation (PMC) workers clear garbage but only once a week. Singh added that she had already written a letter to PMC urging them to carry out sanitation work regularly.

“There might be an outbreak of vector-borne diseases owing to the litter strewn around. It seems the residents don’t care to follow basic sanitation rules. An educational institution is like a temple but the residents have turned it into a dumping zone. It’s pathetic. No one is concerned, not even the civic officials. I hardly find PMC employees launching a cleanliness drive,” said Singh.

The principal said: “On Saturday, some youths broke the window panes of our new chemistry laboratory. The lab had been built at a cost of around Rs 1.5 crore. I immediately informed Sanjay Kumar, the in-charge of Kadamkuan police station. He met the residents and promised us that such acts would not be repeated. He also urged the residents not to litter the entrance of the college. He let them off so easily. Why did the officer did not warn the residents? Is it justified?” Sanjay said: “Asha Singh, the principal of Sri Arvind Mahila College, informed us that some youths had broken the window panes of the chemistry lab. I went there myself. After investigation, I found out that Singh had scolded a few boys after they had hit a ball into the college campus. The youths, in order to take revenge, broke the panes. In every locality, boys play on the roads and they sometimes break windowpanes. It is a common incident,” said Singh.

The Telegraph tried to contact Aadesh Titarmare, the in-charge PMC commissioner, but his mobile phone was switched off.

Manorama Devi, a resident of Kazipur, said: “It is the PMC’s fault. They don’t clear garbage regularly. We have to dump our domestic waste at some place. Earlier, there was a dustbin near the entrance but now that has been removed. So people dump litter outside the college.”