Mushrooming of hostels as youth flood in Vijayawada

The capital city announcement has changed the face of Vijayawada, where several independent houses as well as apartments have been converted as boys and girls hostels by private people who are minting money by providing sharing of accommodation without following the rules and regulations stipulated by the city police.

The mushrooming of hostels for accommodating not only the students but also employees and visitors has also creating unsecured atmosphere where unwanted elements may take safe shelter due to the greediness of some of the hostel managements.

For the past three years, Vijayawada has become a hub for educational as well as business activities. Not only the state government employees, who have shifted their place of work to Capital Amaravati, but also several private companies, which have established their headquarters at Hyderabad are gradually extending their business activities in the financial capital of Vijayawada too, where the employees are being transferred here. Many of the employees including private, who have been transferred from Hyderabad are making their shelter in boys and girls hostels.

According to information there are more than 100 hostels for both boys and girls separately, in and around Vijayawada city, which provides sharing of room where four to eight persons will be accommodated in a room according to its size.

Hostels, which are managed by individuals charges Rs 4,000 to 7,000 per person while providing two meals per day. Many of the inmates, despite feel inconvenience, where there is no scope to even have to sit in the chair as steel cots are provided for each separately, are preferring such type of accommodation due its nominal rent.

“I am working in a private company in Hyderabad and I was transferred to Vijayawada as my company established its new office here too. Shifting my family at this time is difficult for me and the exorbitant house rents in the city forced me to take shelter in a boys hostel, where I lost my privacy.

I am paying Rs 4,000 per month which includes two meals per day, where I am sharing a room with five others. I can`t even blame the organiser of the hostel as he has to pay Rs 40,000 as rent per month to the owner of the building, who even not provided enough wash rooms where 35 persons are being accommodated in six rooms,” said G Srinivas, who stays in a boys hostel at Mogalrajapuram.

The inmates of the hostels are feeling insecured of their belongings because there is no security staff even at girls hostels. There are more than dozen girls hostels located at Mogalrajapuram, Benz Circle, Bandar road, Labbipet and other nearby areas which are prime localities in the city.

Despite instructions from police department majority of hostels are not following them and joining any one without checking their credentials concentrating only on rent amount. “The organizers want only money and they are not even collecting copies of Aadhar or other identity proof.

Any escaped prisoner or anti social element can get safe shelter in hostels easily as the organizers want only money. I don`t know who are staying in my hostel are where they came from. Some people even stay for three or four days and pay the rent on daily basis like lodge, which is also encouraged by several greedy hostel organizers,” said P Ramkumar, a government employee who resides in a hostel at Labbipet.

Similar situation is prevailing in the girls hostels too where several government and private employees and students preparing for competitive exams are staying. A woman hostelier told that they are forced to stay as they could not stay alone in the independent houses nor flats.

Even though security personnel not available, the combined stay will give some moral confidence among us, she said. According to one of the organizer of a girls hostel, they are unable to afford in providing security to the girls.

“We are collecting nominal charges from the hosteliers, where several of them belonging to middle class. Providing security is a costly affair, which burdens more on the hosteliers. Hence, we are looking after their security ourselves,” the woman organizer, preferring to be anonymous said.

When contacted N Satyanandam, ACP Central Zone, Vijayawada city he categorically said that for girls or women`s hostel the management of the hostel should get permission from the government authority and they should provide a warden and install security measures including CC Cameras.

Any violation of this regulations will be seriously dealt, he said. As far as boys hostels are concerned the management should compulsory seek identity proof from the students or employees, ACP said. It came to our notice that some boys hostels are not collecting the identity proofs from the inmates, for which serious action will be taken against them, he warned.

By: T Sudhakar