mid day editorial: JJ dean needs to reassess his priorities

The trepidation is completely valid. One year ago, a man had tried to shoot a video through one of the bathroom windows

The dean of a prominent medical college in the city seems to have misplaced priorities. He seems busy with moral policing, while 400 women students staying in the hostel on campus are afraid for their lives. Not only is it dilapidated and unhygienic, those who live there have a legitimate fear that they may fall prey to sexual predators, as the glass louvers in the bathroom windows don't close, making it very convenient for peeping Toms.

The trepidation is completely valid. One year ago, a man had tried to shoot a video through one of the bathroom windows. He was scared off as an alarm was raised but we cannot discount the fact that an attempt was made.

Repairs to these bathroom windows need to be addressed urgently. This is not a hugely complicated problem, nor is it one that requires sizeable sums of money. All it takes is an inspection of the broken windows, details and then calling in somebody to repair them. While repairs may be fairly easy, living with something like this is certainly not trivial for women. It is demeaning and the constant stress and humiliation of being spied can have significant impact on their studies.

Threats to life and limb are posed by falling parts of the bathroom ceiling, the walls have fungus, plaster is peeling off and the iron is exposed. It is unacceptable that students are exposed to such danger and their complaints are not being taken cognisance of. In fact, dangerous conditions in hostels have become more the norm than the exception.

We need one regulatory authority monitoring the state of hostels here and ensuring they offer decent and hygienic living spaces for students. Work on this before there is a calamity because like always, we wake up only after somebody is grievously injured.

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