Hyderabad: At around 2:30 in the afternoon, several students of IIIT Basara felt their stomachs churn with discomfort. What followed was a cluster of students dealing with nausea, agonizing over headaches while their still healthy counter parts rushed to their aid.
“Engineering and Pre University Course students enrolled in 1st and 2nd years started falling sick after they had lunch at two of the messes on campus. Around 6000 students are enrolled in these courses of which around 80-90% have fallen sick,” said Yashwant*, an engineering third year student.
While a lot of students are being treated in the campus, as per another student, Surya’s* account, a few of the students dealing with food poisoning had to be rushed to government hospitals in Nizamabad.
Nirmal district Superintendent of Police Praveen Kumar stated that more female students were affected as a result of poor immunity. “As of the moment, all students are safe and out of danger including those admitted to hospitals in Nizamabad.”
The students were (and still are) ailing from food poisoning and while their condition is stable, IIIT Basara has been plagued by a series of issues for a while now.
IIIT Basara’s history of negligence
This is hardly the first time Rajiv Gandhi University of Knowledge Technologies (RGUKT), colloquially referred to as IIIT Basara, has made the news. In this instance, it was owing to food poisoning. In the recent past, IIIT Basara was denied basic amenities.
Students found themselves residing in a space made inhabitable by unhygienic washrooms, unsanitary kitchens, walls chipping bit by bit, and unpalatable food.
IIIT Basara’s suffering can be attributed to a lack of funds. As per a report by The New Minute published on June, 21 of this year, the University requests for more than Rs 100 crore but has so far functioned on Rs 28 crores. In 2021-22, only Rs 23 crores was allotted.
In fact, the funds sanctioned for the university has dipped each year.
Little changed, much to account for
In June, Telangana education minister Sabitha Indra Reddy held a meet with the Student governing council (SGC) of the university after students held a protest demanding better living conditions. Reddy assured them that the campus would see a significant improvement.
“After the meeting with Sabitha ma’am, the campus witnessed change to an extend. Food poisoning had happened in the past as well. But it was never this severe. Changes anni occhi unte, idi jarigedi kadu kada madam? (If changes were enacted, all of this wouldn’t have happened no?) said Surya.
(Names of the students have been changed in this article to protect their identity.)
