Garbage dumped on the premises of Government Polytechnic College. Picture by Mohan Mahato

Darbhanga, May 11: Garbage is generally disposed of on the outskirts of a town but the Darbhanga Municipal Corporation (DMC) seems to have chosen educational premises for the purpose.

Students and teachers of Government Polytechnic College said that their institution has turned into a garbage dupm of the town.

The situation has turned abysmal: rotting garbage, stench smells wafting through the air enters not only the classrooms but also the principal’s chamber.

Students said often it became difficult for them to concentrate on their studies because of the prevading stink. The students said they could not see a way to come out of “this mess”. The pain does not stop there.

There is a bus stand right opposite the college and passengers often choose to relieve themselves there. As the Government Polytechnic College here does not have a boundary wall, the students are left with the scene of people relieving themselves.

“Not only is this disgusting, it is also embarrassing for the girls. But there is no way to come out of this mess,” a student of the college said.

The principal of the college, Chandrika Rawat, said he had written to DMC explaining the problems.

“I have written about the appaling condition of the college premises to the commissioner of DMC and the district magistrate and updated them about the heap of wastes dumped inside the college premises because of which it often becomes difficult to carry out academic activities. Soon after the letters were sent, the dumping of garbage stopped for a while. However, garbage was dumped once again. Once I saw the DMC disposing garbage here in the morning,” he told The Telegraph.

He pointed out that the foul smell was severely affecting the educational atmosphere in the college.

“The worst situation is when people start defecating near my office and I could do nothing. Even the windows could not be closed because the glasses are broken,” he said.

He pointed out that the government sanctioned a fund of Rs 1.67 crore for all this. The work is likely to be done through the public works department. No work has started so far. The students of the college said they were helpless and had no option but to carry out their studies under the given situation.

“Cleanliness is a big issue. If the inside of the college is not clean, how can you expect the outside to be clean?” asked Mohammed Ahsan, a third-year student of civil engineering.

District magistrate R. Lakshmanan told The Telegraph: “I shall talk to the Darbhanga municipal commissioner about the situation. We would soon initiate steps to clean up the college premises.”

Sources said the condition of the college improved after Rawat joined as the principal in July 2010.

A number of students have grabbed placement opportunities when the companies came to the college. The college has around 1,200 students studying under various streams.