Chunks of ceiling at Eden Hindu Hostel fall on bed of resident not present at the time
Telegraph | 22 February 2025
Chunks of the ceiling of a room at Eden Hindu Hostel on College Street fell on a resident’s bed on Wednesday night. Fortunately, the resident was not there.
Room No. 101 is located in a block that underwent renovation and was reopened for students in 2018.
The chunks fell on the mosquito net strung over the bed of Oishinik Dutta, a postgraduate student of Presidency University, who was on the phone with his mother.
“Around 11pm, I received a call from my mother and I went to the playground to speak because the connectivity is better outside. Suddenly, I heard a crashing sound from the room. I rushed back and saw chunks on the mosquito net. The strings of the net had torn under the impact,” said Oishinik, who hails from Bankura.
“I could have been seriously injured, had I not been away.”
He has been staying in the hostel since January 2023. Earlier, he lived in a private paying guest accommodation.
The residents of the 157-year-old hostel accused the Presidency authorities of not doing enough to maintain the premises.
Soumyadeep Pradhan, who shares the room with Oishinik, was in the room when the concrete pieces fell on the bed.
“The entire room was covered with dust. After the dust settled, I saw Oishanik’s bed covered in concrete chunks. Since the Hindu hostel is an old structure, the ceiling is at least 14 to 15 feet high,” said Soumyadeep, also pursuing a master’s at Presidency.
The problem of concrete pieces falling off from the ceiling is not new in the hostel, developed to accommodate students from the districts to study in the erstwhile Presidency College.
In May 2022, students in the hostel wrote to education minister Bratya Basu about the risks they posed.
The state PWD then carried out repair works following the intervention of the minister, a former Presidency student himself.
The problem persists as the authorities are not serious about maintenance, alleged residents.
“Cracks have surfaced on the walls of the new building developed within the hostel compound to accommodate research scholars. Chunks are falling off there as well”, said Oishinik.
Arun Kumar Maity, the dean of students, said: “The PWD officials have inspected the room. The repair will start from Friday.”
Only two wards of the hostel — 1 and 2 — are now occupied.
The remaining three have been in a state of disrepair since May 2015.