K. Satyanarayana, state general secretary, Kula Nirmoolana Porata Samiti, AP.

September 7, 2004

The Chief Minister,

Government of Andhra Pradesh,

Hyderabad.

Sub: Demand for reopening of the BC Boys’ Hostel at Chintavaram, Chillakur Mandal, Nellore district and punishment of the district BC welfare officer, Chandra Sekhar Raju for the illegal closure of the Hostel.

Sir,

We represent the nearly 80 backward classes (BC) students of the BC Boys’ Hostel at Chintavaram, Nellore district. We are first generation poor students belonging to Muttarasi, Yadava, Gamalla and other backward castes. We are studying at the ZP High School, Chintavaram.

We wish to bring to your notice the illegal closure of the 20-year-old BC Boys’ Hostel at Chintavaram on July 19, 2004. We were shocked to know that the hostel was closed after our classes started in the second week of June 2004.The warden and other authorities have admitted about 25 students in this academic year, in addition to the 57 students. We were informed orally that we have the option to join any BC Hostel in the district.

This sudden and shocking decision of the district collector and the district BC welfare officer has left us on the streets. We hail from 20 villages near the seacoast in Chillakur Mandal of Nellore district. We have joined the hostel at Chintavaram, which is 25 kilometres away from our villages. We cannot join some other hostel far away in the district as it involves a financial and psychological burden on our families.
The district BC welfare officer maintains that the hostel was closed as per the recent G.O. Ms. No. 32 dated 30-06-2004, issued by the principal secretary, BC Welfare.

According to G.O. No. 32, one hostel for college going girls from the backward classes should be established in each district by conversion of the existing BC Girls’ Hostel. The G.O. says, "the collector and district magistrate may select one of the existing BC Girls’ Hostels in the district headquarters or in any important educational centre in the district with the government building having basic minimum infrastructure facilities and take steps for its conversion into B.C College Girls’ Hostel.

"While doing so, the district collector/district BC welfare officer should admit the girls of the existing hostel in the neighbouring BC Girls Hostel without any dislocation to their studies." The district BC welfare officer clearly violated the guidelines in the G.O. by closing down the BC Boys’ Hostel. He should be punished for misinterpreting the G.O. and illegally closing down the BC Boys’ Hostel.

The district BC welfare officer stated in the press that the BC Boys’ Hostel was closed due to the non-availability of a building for rent in the village. The owner of the rented building told us that the district authorities informed him that they do not need his building as they are closing down the hostel.

After the closure of the hostel, we took shelter in the community hall (near Dalitawada) of the village for more than one month. The villagers provided us food for ten days. We survived later with the support of various organisations. We have been continuing our studies from July 19. We have received tremendous public support to our demand that the hostel should be continued at Chintavaram. All the student organisations extended their support to the students by calling a bandh of all schools in Gudur division on July 22, 2004. All students in the hostels of the Gudur division expressed their protest by fasting for one day.

In response to the ‘Chalo Collectorate’ call given by various organisations, hundreds of students participated in the rally and the dharna in front of the collector’s office at Nellore on July 28, 2004. On August 12, we conducted a rasta roko on the highway for more than three hours.

We presented the matter to the minister for primary education, Smt. M Rajyalakshmi on August 13 at a public meeting at Kota. The minister gave an assurance that the hostel will be continued and budget will be allotted for a new building at Chintavaram. We called off the relay hunger strike on August 17 when the local MLA, P. Prakash Rao and RDO, Katti Subrahmanyam Reddy came to the students’ tent and communicated the minister’s assurance. But even after 45 days, we are still struggling to survive and we have no hostel or food.

We have recently shifted to a new building owned by one Sayyad Muneer to expose the false claim of the officials that there is no building available for rent. We hope the government will pay the rent to the owner and continue the hostel in this building. If the hostel is not reopened, we have no option but to become child labourers in sandmines, bars and hotels.

We wish to impress upon you that closing down the BC Boys’ Hostel is a denial of our constitutional right to education. It is unfortunate that the BC Boys’ Hostel is the third hostel to be closed down in the Chillakur Mandal. Earlier, the BC Hostel at Tikkavaram and the SC Hostel at Chillakur were closed down.