Loose wires dangle from broken switchboards on the walls of Minto hostel in Patna. Pictures by Ashok Sinha

Patna, July 28: The hostels under Patna University continue to reel under government apathy.

The university administration had issued letters to boarders at various hostels under the varsity to vacate their rooms during the zero session in the last week of May. Renovation and construction work were supposed to be carried out in hostels in that period. But nothing has changed till now, as slum-like conditions still prevail in the hostels owing to alleged negligence of authorities concerned.

The Telegraph visited various hostels of Patna College to have a look whether any renovation or construction work has been carried out during the zero session and made shocking discoveries.

Stinking lavatories, leaking roofs, irregular supply of water and live electric wires dangling from junction boxes, exposing boarders to accidents, greeted The Telegraph team.

According to Prabhat Kumar, a boarder of Minto hostel, the electricity wires are in such a dangerous shape that even officials from the electricity department have raised doubts over the condition of the wiring.

Prabhat said: “We have written a letter to the college authorities for repairing the wires but we have come to know that the electricity department officials have claimed that these damaged wires are in such a condition that these cannot be repaired but need to be changed.”

The boarders of Minto hostel complained that with the onset of monsoon, staying in the hostel becomes dangerous as current flows through the damp walls owing to the exposed wires.

Moreover, most electricity boards and junction boxes are open and during a voltage trip, students get electric shock while changing the main switch.

Sanskar Sigriwal, another boarder of the hostel, said: “On several occasions, we have requested the college authorities regarding the pathetic condition of the hostel. We have pleaded to them about the open electric wires but no action have been taken in this regard.”

Boarders also complained that dangling wires pose a danger to students and they have to exercise a lot of precaution while walking through the corridors of the hostel. The sanitary conditions are obnoxious, to say the least. The cisterns in the lavatories are malfunctioning and a foul smell emanates from the toilets. Compounding woes is the inadequate number of toilets, especially on the upper floors of the hostel.

Raghuvansh Mani, another boarder, said: “During rains, electric current passes through the walls and sometimes we get electric shocks. The last time the hostel, built in 1907, was painted was in 2006 during the tenure of vice-chancellor Y.C. Simhadhari.”

The situation at Jackson hostel, adjacent to Minto, is no better.

The rooms are in a bad shape. The hostel, which houses around 80 students, is dark and dingy. Dirty rooms with garbage strewn everywhere is a common sight. With the plaster coming off at places, the roof can give way any time, seriously injure the boarders.

Gunjan Kumar, a boarder at Minto hostel, said: “If the university administration doesn’t pay attention to renovation and maintenance, a big accident can occur. The windows in the rooms on the first floor lack grills.

Meanwhile, Randhir Kumar Singh, the superintendent of four hostels of Patna College, said no renovation or construction work was carried out this year too, as the university didn’t provide any fund for the purpose.

Singh added: “The university doesn’t have funds for renovation while there is no attention from the state government.”