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The students of the Sri Jayachamarajendra Polytechnic (SJP) College in Bengaluru are facing issues with toilet waste overflowing from the sewage pipeline near the campus gate, canteen, classrooms and hostel areas. Although the college authorities said they have taken steps, many students said the poor sanitary condition is still an issue and the accumulated water has become a breeding ground for mosquitoes, leading to risks of contracting vector-borne diseases.
An engineer of the Public Works Department (PWD) on condition of anonymity told The Indian Express, “The PWD used to carry out maintenance works like laying out pipelines and sanitation work but the college decided to withdraw the agency’s services and went ahead with its own team. Most of the colleges are now doing so. The students in the campus are suffering due to the poor maintenance and hygiene conditions for many years now. If the higher education department is ready to provide funds, we will restart our services.” The engineer added that the PWD undertakes cleaning activities outside the SJP campus.
A student from the electrical department, who did not wish to be named, said, “The stinking smell from the toilet waste is unbearable. It is difficult to focus on classroom teaching and we cannot sit and have food in the canteen, nor stay in our hostel rooms. The toilet waste is overflowing near the campus gate, onto the Cubbon Park side, which is really nasty. The problem started 10 days back and the mosquitoes have increased.” The student stays in the college hostel.
Principal of the college L S Ramesh said, “The drainage system here is very old and the sewage pipelines are not installed appropriately. That needs to be replaced. We just repaired the drainage system yesterday (Tuesday) with funds from our internal revenue. The sanitary system is getting fixed now in a graded manner. The college, especially the hostel, was initially designed in a way that it could accommodate only a few students. But now the number of students has gone up and the infrastructure has become very old. We are now seeking the education department’s help to give the college a complete overhaul and boost its infrastructure.”
Meanwhile, the National Students’ Union of India (NSUI), the students’ wing of Congress, submitted a report to the principal secretary of higher education seeking immediate intervention. “The college claims to have repaired the sanitary problem but it is only a temporary solution as it is an open drain through which toilet waste is flowing without any pipeline. Pipes need to be installed to prevent overflowing of the toilet waste,” said N Narendra, a member of NSUI.
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