Excelsior Correspondent
Srinagar, Nov 6: Second-year MBBS students of Government Medical College (GMC) Handwara today staged a protest against the non-availability of hostel facilities.
The students alleged that the college administration has failed to provide accommodation despite repeated assurances over the past year.
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The protesting students, who assembled on the campus, said they have been compelled to live as paying guests in Handwara town, spending huge amounts monthly on rent and other expenses.
“For the last one year, we have been arranging our own accommodation. Despite repeated assurances from the administration, nothing has changed on ground and we have been left to fend for ourselves,” one of the students said.
They said around 100 students from the 2024 batch were informed at the time of admission that hostel approval was pending and that they would need to manage accommodation on their own temporarily.
“We have been suffering for the last over one year. Last time, we were told that a building was coming up, but then it was allotted to the juniors who were yet to be admitted,” another student said.
The students alleged that even after the hostel building was completed, it was reserved for the newly admitted batch, leaving them without any facility once again.
“Now, when the hostel facilities have finally become available, we are being told that these will be allotted to the new batch instead,” they said.
They added that most of them belong to economically weaker backgrounds and cannot afford such expenses.
“We do not want anyone to suffer because of us, but we are forced to seek basic amenities. It is becoming impossible to live here, especially due to the harsh winter and lack of proper facilities,” they added.
Meanwhile, MLA Handwara Sajad Gani Lone visited the college, interacted with the protesting students and the GMC Handwara administration, and assured them that the issue would be resolved within two to three weeks.
He said necessary arrangements would be made and that the matter would be addressed within a month, urging the students to call off their protest.
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