At a time when the students of premiere colleges in Delhi are fighting for their freedom of expression, their counterparts in Banaras Hindu University are worried about the governance in Uttar Pradesh where assembly elections are in full swing. Established by Pandit Madan Mohan Malviya in 1916, BHU is one of the largest universities in Asia with over 20,000 students. "Basic issue is of development. Infrastructure, education, health and job. The party which will address all these issue, I think people of Varanasi will vote for them," said Abhijit Sen, Head of Department, Institute of Agricultural Science, BHU. On of the biggest worries of the city is pathetic condition of roads. Encroachment by vendors and construction work due to laying of pipelines or power cable are the major reason behind the consistent traffic jam in the city. Even in interiors, the roads are in bad shape. "I belong to Ghazipur. That is some 70 kms from Varanasi. But the roads in Varanasi-Ghazipur stretch are in such a condition that if a pregnant woman is on her way to hospital, she might deliver mid way," believes JP Singh, Professor JP Singh, BHU. For students, however, lack of teaching staff and negligence of primary education are big concerns. "In BHU itself, there is vacancies of teachers. But recruitment are always on hold. Even the basic schools in the city doesn't meet the education standard. Unless you the young children get proper education, how will they compete in future," said Alok Pandey, student of BHU. Students also complaint of nepotism in government jobs and poor law and order situation in the city. "Frankly speaking we will insecure here. There is a time for change. Yahan har koi kisis ka chacha bhteeja hai. It seems as merit has no place," said another student. "Girls here are insecure. We often face gender, caste and religious discrimination. Even on roads we are worried about our safety. The hostel authorities have made it mandatory for us to return back by 7 in the evening," said Sunita, a student.
