Hyderabad: Student injured in ceiling collapse in Osmania University; Protests erupt on campus

The incident, which occurred on Tuesday morning, left K Naveen, a final year student pursuing Food Technology at Osmania University College of Technology with injuries to his back and head

Hyderabad: A student at Osmania University was injured on Tuesday after portions of the plasterwork on the ceiling of the Main Technology Hostel washroom ceiling collapsed. The incident, which occurred on Tuesday morning, left K Naveen, a final year student pursuing Food Technology at Osmania University College of Technology with injuries to his back and head.

The incident triggered a fresh wave of protests on the campus by students who squatted on the main road, demanding safety and security in the campus hostels. The campus was already witnessing a series of protests after the administration issued circular banning protests in the varsity.

Naveen was immediately rushed for treatment where he was administered first-aid, along with a TT injection. “While I was using the washroom, suddenly small portions of the ceiling started falling down. Somehow, I managed to escape but it fell on my back and head. I got an injury on the back and my head is aching badly,” said Naveen.

Students lamented that it was not the first time such an incident happened in the hostel. Last July, a portion of the ceiling collapsed in the boys’ hostel due to continuous rains. However, no student was injured as the incident happened late in the night but they were shaken by sudden ceiling collapse.

According to students, the hostel was constructed in the 1960’s and it houses about 300 students which was more than its capacity. They said there was no maintenance of the building and numerous pleas for better facilities in the hostel had not yielded any response.

“We have submitted at least 50 representations regarding inhabitable conditions in the hostel. When we approached the Vice Chancellor he said the college is autonomous and it has to look into the issue, while college officials say they do not have funds. The college hostel condition is the same as it was three years ago when I first joined. We do not know whom to approach for resolution,” says Nanda Kishore, a final year technology student.