Illegal occupants at Aryabhatt Hostel in Darbhanga. Picture by Mohan Mahato

Darbhanga, Sept. 16: Aryabhatt Hostel of CM Science College in front of Darbhanga Municipal Corporation has turned into family quarters of illegal occupants.

The college employees, who are residing in it, have occupied all 28 rooms.

The hostel lacks basic infrastructure, including electricity, proper sanitation and drinking water. There is only one handpump and three toilets. Waterlogging on the premises during the monsoon is also common.

During the rainy season, water droplets trickle from the roof. The windows are broken, plasters are crumbling and the building is in a ramshackle condition on account of neglect by the college administration.

Sources said the hostel might collapse any time endangering the lives of these occupants. There is an urgent need to get the building evacuated to avert danger.

R.K. Mishra, the college principal, told The Telegraph: “Aryabhatt Hostel is not inhabitable and no college employees have been allotted rooms. If we allot rooms to students or employees, the responsibility of any accident comes upon the administration that we do not want to bear.”

Mishra added: “We have submitted a project report of Rs 3 crore to the human resource development (HRD) department for the construction of a new building. We have been allotted a meagre fund of Rs 30 lakh, which is not sufficient.”

He added: “The HRD officials granted a fund of Rs 30 lakh instead of Rs 3 crore by mistake. The project is under consideration of the HRD department.” Mishra said the inhabitants of the hostel are college employees and they are protecting the building from being encroached upon and possible theft of material.

He said: “They will be asked to vacate the building as soon as the fund for the construction of the hostel is released by the department.”

Sanjit Kumar, son of Radheshyam, who works as a lab boy in the physics department, said: “We are residing here for the past eight months in a miserable condition. We will vacate it whenever we are asked to by the college administration. No one wants to reside in a place lacking basic hygiene.” Mohammed Sabir, a third-year student of the college, said: “I live in a single rented room at an exorbitant charge of Rs 1,500. Once I am allotted a room in the hostel, I will be able to save money.”