Patna, Dec. 14: A new hostel for boys studying at Patna Medial College is ready for opening but the medicos will be able to move in after Prakash Utsav.

The 150-bed undergraduate hostel, constructed at a cost of Rs 10.3 crore on the Patna Medical College and Hospital (PMCH) campus, will be inaugurated by this month end.

"Construction work of the new hostel is almost complete and it will be inaugurated within a fortnight," said college principal S.N. Sinha. "Only boys would be allotted beds in the new undergraduate hostel but they will not be able to use it just after inauguration. Around 250 doctors, being brought from various districts to Patna for Prakash Utsav, will be accommodated at the hostel. Hostel seats would be allocated to the students after Prakash Utsav."

The 350th birth anniversary celebrations of Guru Gobind Singh concludes on January 6 but students would likely be allotted rooms only by the second week of the new year.

Lack of space in hostels breaches Medical Council of India (MCI) norms. As at least 200 undergraduate and postgraduate students live off campus for lack of rooms, the construction of this new hostel is important for the state's premier medical college.

Sources said MCI had earlier raised objections to the lack of space in the Patna Medical College hostels. Students accommodated in the college hostel have to pay Rs 3,600 annually while those who live in private hostels or rent rooms in the city end up paying at least Rs 48,000 a year.

Ankit Karan, a second-year MBBS student, said: "Many of my batchmates stay on rent for Rs 3,000-4,000 a month. Had they lived in the hostel, they would not only have saved money but also time lost in commuting from and to college."

"The administration also needs to renovate the existing hostels. The mess and bathrooms in the undergraduate and postgraduate hostels are very dingy," he added. "We have complained to the college administration many times but nothing has been done."

"At present, students stay crammed in the hostels," said another third-year student. "Six first-year students share a room now while in the second- and third-year batches, four people stay in one room. The postgraduate students and interns are still privileged, as they don't have to share rooms. At present, many of the undergraduate students have even been allotted rooms in the postgraduate hostel, so the new hostel would be nothing less than a boon."

In another decision, PMCH will reserve 30 beds for Sikh pilgrims scheduled to participate in Prakash Utsav in the private cottage wards on the premises.

"Renovation of the G+2 structure of the private cottages is on," said hospital deputy superintendent Deepak Tandon. "The private wards will be equipped with television, refrigerator and heater among other facilities. We charge Rs 100 a day for anyone taking a cottage ward. But the pilgrims won't be charged if they are admitted."