College hostellers made to pay salary for cooks, chowkidars, sweepers
Source: The Sangai Express

Imphal, August 11, 2012: Hostellers of DM College of Science, Arts and Commerce as well as that of GP Women's College have informed that they have been paying the wages of cooks, chowkidars and sweepers.

Addressing a press conference at DM College of Commerce here today, the inmates of the four hostels located inside the campus of DM College, disclosed that the maintenance fees charged from the hostellers of DM College of Commerce has increased from Rs 200 to Rs 700 per year, from Rs 100 to Rs 700 for hostellers of DM College of Science and from Rs 400 to 600 for hostellers of GP Women's college.

When the hostellers enquired over this increase, the Principal of the colleges conveyed that it is to pay the salaries of cooks, chowkidars and sweepers of the hostels and also to replace the out of order tube lights in the hostels.

"This is a system which cannot be seen in any of the government run college hostels in the world", the hostellers contended.

They further informed that the medical fee charged from the hostellers too has been increased from Rs 10 to Rs 100 and the fees for utensils from Rs 100 to 200.The increase in admission and medical fees are not acceptable as the hostellers hardly get any medical benefits.

At times of illness, the hostellers have to go to doctors to get treatment themselves and the hostel authorities do not provide any help in this regard.

The hostellers asserted that if a student is levied fee for utensils at the time of admission in the hostels, the fee for the same should not be taken from the same students in next year as the utensils used by the hostellers are not changed every year.

For DM College of Commerce, the students bring their own utensils from home.

Moreover, the students are also made to pay fee for certain objectives which are never disclosed to them.

But these fees have been increased from Rs 400 to 500 for the Hostel of DM College of Science and Arts and Rs 300 to 400 for the hostellers of GP Women's College.

With the increase in the fees under various pretexts, the total admission fees for DM College of Commerce Hostel has shot up to Rs 3500 from Rs 2500; from Rs 2400 to Rs 3000 for DM College of Arts, from Rs 2300 and Rs 3600 for DM College of Science Hostel and from Rs 1300 to Rs 1500 for hostellers of GP Women's College, the aggrieved hostellers disclosed, while drawing the attention of the authorities concerned into the matter.

The aggrieved hostellers have also warned of taking recourse to intense agitations if the fee charged from the hostellers is not reverted to the previous rate by August 15.

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