Many problems in social welfare hostels in Anantapur district

Anantapur: Parents of children living in welfare hostels in Anantapur district have demanded that the government should construct hostel buildings on its own and provide good facilities as the private buildings are not suitable for children to stay. The Social Welfare Department is running about 20 hostels for students of government schools in the city. All of them are running in private rented buildings which are poorly maintained and in a very bad condition. These hostels meant for backward castes, scheduled castes, minorities and differently-abled children are poorly maintained or have not been maintained for many years. Inordinate delay in releasing budget for hostels by the YSRCP government during its tenure, insufficient funds to pay rent for the buildings and the government’s failure to increase rent every two years as per the agreement are among the reasons for the dangerous conditions in the hostels. Children complain of bathrooms without doors, faulty motors, irregular water supply, poor sanitation, half of the building covered with tin roof, windows without doors, these are the conditions prevailing in the hostel buildings at Third Road, Arvind Nagar, Ferroor Colony, Hamali Colony. Each hostel will house 50 to 250 children. When contacted, social welfare officials admitted that there were some problems in the private buildings, alleging that the private building owners were not maintaining the buildings. They said the new government was considering building its own hostel buildings for government school children and working women as well.