Vikarabad medical college students flag lack of basic facilities

Hyderabad: The newly established Government Medical College in Vikarabad (GMC VKB) is grappling with a severe infrastructure and administrative crisis. Students of the medical college on Wednesday alleged that they have been left to suffer in temporary facilities years after the institution’s establishment.

Students from GMC, Vikarabad, which was established in 2023, said that the medical college continues to operate out of temporary premises in Godamguda and Burgupally under distressing conditions.

The medical students charged that despite initial assurances that permanent infrastructure would be ready within months, their batches continue to struggle in temporary living spaces.

Students have complained that the institution severely lacks a dedicated campus hostel, forcing female students to accommodate themselves inside a Central Government Ayush Hospital building where 16 to 17 members are crammed into individual hospital ward rooms.

The students pointed out that only two functional lecture halls are available to accommodate four separate academic batches, alongside a complete absence of usable toilets on the college campus.

Adding to these hardships, students have said that the campus mess facility has remained suspended for nearly two months due to substandard food quality.

With college authorities failing to appoint a new catering contractor, students pointed out that they have been forced to cook inside their residential rooms or source food externally, prompting medical college management to order the removal of electrical plug points from student rooms.

Apart from all this, close to 300 medical students are dependent on TSRTC bus services to reach the medical college. Students pointed out that they are facing severe commuting challenges because RTC buses rarely stop for them when they travel to clinical postings and campus facilities.

Students have further alleged total inaction and a complete lack of redressal from the senior management of the teaching hospital. The students have urged the State government, health department, KNRUHS and the NMC to immediately intervene, inspect the temporary facilities, expedite permanent campus construction, and resolve basic student welfare concerns.