The Maheshwaram government medical college in Telangana has faced demands for immediate relocation after former minister T Harish Rao alleged that students are studying in unsafe and poorly equipped conditions, with unpaid utility and rent bills affecting the campus.
Speaking at a protest attended by students and former minister Sabita Indra Reddy, Rao asked the state government to shift the college to a fully equipped government or rented building near Vanasthalipuram or LB Nagar TIMS. He also sought written assurances from the Ranga Reddy district collector and the Director of Medical Education to the students.
According to Rao, the government has not cleared electricity, water and rent bills for 26 months. He said the building owner had written to the government about the dues from the time the premises were handed over on August 1, 2024, and that the lack of payments had affected maintenance.
Rao alleged that the college currently lacks functioning washrooms, adequate water supply, laboratories, a library and a hostel. He also referred to complaints about garbage, scrap, stray dogs, monkeys and snakes on the campus. The principal, he said, had written multiple letters about these issues without receiving a response.
The former minister demanded immediate interim measures if the relocation is not carried out at once. These include bus services, drinking water and washrooms, along with permission for buses and students’ private vehicles to reach the college premises. He also called for the government to clear pending rent and water and electricity dues so that the existing building can be maintained.
The college has students from Telangana as well as Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Kerala, according to Rao, who said many had selected it because of its proximity to Hyderabad. The condition of the campus therefore has implications beyond the immediate neighbourhood, particularly for students who relocated from other states for medical education.
Rao said students had protested in January and twice thereafter, while students and their parents had submitted representations to the collector, the college principal, the Director of Medical Education and the health minister. He said he spoke by phone with Ranga Reddy district collector Narayana Reddy and DME Vani Devi from the college and requested that the institution be shifted near LB Nagar TIMS.
He also questioned how a government medical college was allowed to operate without what he described as fire-safety, no-objection and occupancy clearances. The report does not include a response from the Telangana government, the health department, the district administration, the college management or the building owner to the allegations. The immediate next steps sought by Rao are a written assurance to students, provision of basic services and a decision on relocation.
