Govt hostels in Kolar face shortage of wardens

Cooking helpers and 'D' group staff  in charge of hostels

Deputy Commissioner Dr K V Trilok Chandra on Saturday found substandard food and other material during his surprise inspection to the godown from which supplies are provided to the hostels.

The deputy commissioner found that pickles, coffee and tea powder, cooking oil and mosquito coil stocked in the godown was below standard. He directed the officials not to supply them to the hostels. The DC, who took the officials to task over supply of poor quality material, asked them to issue a warning to the contractor.

He said that 78 hostels in Kolar district come under the Social Welfare department while 58 hostels are under the control of Backward Classes Welfare department. He said that the contractors should supply food grains to these hostels directly every month and the process of supply should be compulsorily videographed. He said that biometric system has been introduced in all the hostels and food should be provided to students based on biometric system. The hostel staff should submit a report everyday on the biometric attendance. This report is essential to decide on the quantity of food grain. Action would be initiated against the staffers who fail to submit this report, he said.

Joint Director of Social Welfare Department Dr Nagarajappa informed the deputy commissioner that the department has 78 hostels in the district wherein 3,000 students stay. However, only 18 hostels have wardens the remaining 60 hostels have no wardens. Cooking assistants and ‘D’ group employees are maintaining the hostels which have no wardens. he said.

Similarly, the officials of the Backward Classes Welfare department told the deputy commissioner that the department has 58 hostels across the district wherein 2,153 students stay. Of these only 12 hostels have wardens and the remaining 46 are maintained by cooking assistants and ‘D’ group employees. A sum of Rs 1,200 is being spent on each pre-matric student per month and Rs 1,400 on each post-matric student, the officials said.

The deputy commissioner said that tenders had not been called for supply of food grains to the hostels since 2010 leading to irregularities in hostels. He said that the taluk social welfare officers have been given the responsibility of ensuring supply of quality food grains. The malfunctioning biometric machines in some hostels would be repaired soon, he added.