Facing protest, Lady Hardinge blames Rs 30 lakh mess dues for bad food, says AC hostel proposal with govt

Two days after scores of students at Delhi’s Lady Hardinge Medical College (LHMC) staged a protest against the “extremely distressing and unsafe” living conditions on campus, the college administration cited mess dues for serving students unhygienic food.

In a statement issued on Wednesday, the office of the LHMC principal said that the college administration is requesting additional manpower from higher authorities to mitigate issues related to hygiene, sanitation, and infrastructure. The institute also informed that student volunteers will help dog chasers to catch stray canines on campus, while advising students against feeding them. It was also informed that a proposal for a new air-conditioned building is being considered by the ministry of health and family welfare (MoHFW).

LHMC Delhi, a women-only college run by the central government, is attached to Smt. Sucheta Kriplani (SSK) Hospital and Kalawati Saran Children's (KSC) Hospital in the national capital.

On Monday, around 150 to 200 placard-carrying students gathered in the corridor leading to the director’s office and raised slogans to draw attention to some of the persistent problems facing them. Their grievances include a lack of air conditioning in the medical college hostel rooms, unhygienic food and water, filthy washrooms and a stray dog menace on campus. The agitation was “put on hold” after the administration of the central government-run institute sought a few days to fix the issues.

The students claimed to have found insects in the food offered at the college mess, which is offered as a mandatory service. The water coolers on campus are either non-functional or carry contaminated water, they alleged.

Lady Hardinge Delhi: Mess contract with students’ union

The institute, in its response, pointed out that the hostel mess is operated under a contractual arrangement managed by the students’ union and that the administration is not involved in its day-to-day affairs. It also said that the students’ failure to clear approximately Rs 30 lakh in arrears to the current mess vendor has delayed the transition to a new contractor. “Students with pending dues are being formally notified to clear payments; failing which, appropriate administrative action will be taken,” reads the press note.

In reply to the complaints of “extreme heat” and lack of air conditioning in student accommodation, the principal said that they are evaluating safety concerns in the light of past incidents. She also said that an air-conditioned facility is being planned in the New Academic Block in addition to the air-conditioned common room available to students.

“A proposal for a new hostel building with modern amenities, including air-conditioning, is under consideration at MoHFW level,” said the college’s statement.

The principal also said that they have taken several initiatives to tackle the presence of stray dogs on campus, such as deployment of security personnel, the installation of entry-control mechanisms and dog population control measures, hiring dog-chasers and carrying out daily monitoring rounds. It was informed that the students’ union will also prepare a list of volunteers to help the dog chasers every day.

“Students have been advised strictly not to feed stray animals within the premises, as this contributes to the issue,” said the institute’s communique.

LHMC New Delhi: Need more staff

The institute also apprised that it’s requesting additional manpower from “higher authorities”, besides optimising the deployment of available staff and regulating their leave to tackle some of the problems highlighted by the agitating students.

The principal said that a “detailed review” was conducted through several meetings with student representatives, hostel authorities and administrative officials on different occasions. “Necessary proposals have been submitted to higher authorities and continuous efforts are underway to address all concerns in a systematic and sustainable manner,” reads the press release.

The students, however, are far from satisfied with the institute’s response, with one student terming it “pure manipulation” to shut them up. “The entire press release is based on future promises, which might take years to implement, what will happen of students till then?" said the MBBS student requesting anonymity.

"The points stated by the administration are superficial and not even a single promising action has been taken - dogs are still roaming freely, washrooms are still unhygienic, and the common room is filled with dogs with no proper sitting space. How can you even accommodate 800 plus students in a common room?" she added.

She points out that all the offices and departments in the college's century heritage building are equipped with ACs, while the decade-old hostel building is bereft of them. Even postgraduate (PG) hostels are equipped with ACs - probably because that is a co-ed hostel, unlike the UG girls' hostel. A girls' hostel doesn't deserve ACs?" she said, adding, “There have been multiple complaints in the past few years. Every time they give some excuse and false reassurance.”

Rohan Krishnan, chief patron of the Federation of All India Medical Association (FAIMA) claimed that the college is trying to shift accountability through its statement. "When mess fails, blame students; dogs inside hostel, “don’t feed” advisory; heat crisis, “proposal under consideration”. This is not administration. This is abdication. Medical students deserve safe, hygienic living conditions now," he said in a post on X.