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CHENNAI: Saturday’s collapse of a portion of the General Post Office on Rajaji Salai after heavy rains was apparently due to poor maintenance. If that is the case, then, there is yet another historic edifice in the city that may meet the same fate if authorities do not pay attention. It is the Victoria Students’ Hostel in Chepauk, a heritage structure that is standing tall for more than 110 years. Students, over 230 in number, living there complain of the carelessness of the Public Works Department (PWD) that has resulted in heavy seepage of water from the roof forcing them to stick layers of newspapers on the ceiling to stop the constant dripping. While the students, who largely belong to the Presidency College next door, were informed by the college authorities that they would get only “minimum facilities” in the hostel when they joined their respective courses, they had no idea how bad the structure was until the rains started pouring during last year’s monsoon. “We literally wade through ankle-deep water when there is a heavy downpour. Two students are staying in each room meant for just one. But now, even that is a problem, as water keeps dripping on us forcing us to go to the few rooms which do not have this problem,” said a post-graduate student. Students said that one of the floors in the hostel was closed down in 2009, as authorities found the structure to be “dangerously” weak. However, no repair work has been initiated to strengthen the building, they added. This was despite paying `2,000 for the stay there apart from the establishment charges, they added. In fact, even while students were showing this reporter the number of cracks on the walls, a small patch on the ceiling of the second floor on the western wing came crashing down, forcing them to comment that they do not know how safe their current rooms are either and they go to bed fearing the worst every night. Officials of the hostel said that the situation would have been much worse if not for the intervention of the crew of director Shankar, who shot his latest flick starring actor Vijay in the building. Patch work was done on the outer walls and then painted, and a lawn was also put up for the shooting. A statue of Sir CV Raman was also installed by the crew. Most students blamed the apathy of the authorities, who refuse to visit the hostel despite several pleas and protests. “When we inform the college, they tell us that it is the work of the PWD and they had already informed them. However, when a group of us went to the PWD office to complain, we were made to go from pillar to post to find the person-in-charge who asked us to come back later as he was in a meeting,” said one of the students. These students now want the authorities to immediately make an inspection and arrange for alternatives if the building is not strong enough. “Corrupt persons lodged in jails are given VIP facilities but research scholars like us are left to live in such a building,” commented a doctorate student.
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