Hyderabad: College hostel students across Hyderabad held rallies and gatherings on Sunday to thank Telangana chief minister Revanth Reddy for raising the monthly mess allowances in BC, SC, ST, minority, and gurukula hostels. The increase addresses long-standing demands to improve students’ living conditions and meals.
Hundreds of students from Backward Class (BC) and Scheduled Class (SC) college hostels joined a rally at BC Bhavan to celebrate the occasion. National BC Welfare Association President R Krishnaiah, who spoke at the event, noted that students had organized 390 protests and rallies over the past four years, pushing for this hike in mess charges.
“We’re grateful that the current government responded to our sustained efforts and increased mess allowances for SC, ST, BC, and gurukula students. We extend our thanks to CM Revanth Reddy and Deputy CM Bhatti Vikramarka for this vital change,” Krishnaiah said. He added that the increased support will benefit around 765,000 students in gurukulas and hostels across Telangana.
The new rates represent a significant boost: mess charges for college hostel students are up from Rs 1,500 to Rs 2,100 per month; for students in grades 3 to 7 from Rs 900 to Rs 1,330; and for students in grades 8 to 10 from Rs 1,100 to Rs 1,540. Students also expressed hope for further improvements in hostel facilities, including the addition of nutritious meal plans.
Krishnaiah also highlighted the urgent need for dedicated hostel buildings. Currently, 295 BC college hostels and 321 BC gurukula schools lack their own facilities, relying instead on rented private accommodations, sometimes with questionable allocations. “While thousands of crores are spent on flyovers and other infrastructure in upscale areas like Madhapur, Kondapur, Gachibowli, and Kokapet, our future IAS, IPS officers, doctors, engineers, and scientists are forced to live in cramped, overcrowded rooms,” he said.
He urged the government to prioritize constructing permanent hostel buildings, pointing out that students’ education and health are compromised without adequate accommodation.
The event saw the attendance of Telangana State BC Student President Vemula Ramakrishna, along with other student leaders, including K. Siva, R. Kavita, Balaram, Mallesh, CH Srinivas, Naveen Kumar, Vinay Goud, Suresh, and Shiva Raj, who all joined in thanking the government for its support and advocating for further improvements.
