LAHORE, Jan 9: About 1,700 girl students of the Punjab University have been stuffed into five hostels having the capacity to accommodate only 800.

The problem of shortage of hostel accommodation for the female students has been there for the last seven years but the university has done nothing to address it.

The vice-chancellor has time and again claimed to build new hostels for girls during the last couple of years. However, no practical step has so far been taken.

The number of girl students has increased in proportion to boys over the last several years. In disciplines like zoology, botany, psychology, chemistry and social work, the girls’ percentage is about 90. The launch of BA/BSc (honours) programmes in various disciplines has also enhanced the number of girls but the university did not devise any plan to accommodate them.

The accommodation problem of girls is usually taken for granted because they do not take to streets like boys on such issues.

The students of five girls’ hostels said on Thursday they were living in hostels like goats.

They said two girls were forced to live in a cubical as against the capacity of one. And in dormitories seven or more girls were staying in the space for four.

“We are even forced to stay in guest rooms when new admission is made,” they said.

“Whenever we bring the issue into the notice of hostel wardens, they always try to cool us down saying that they (girls) should be pleased to have been accommodated instead of demanding luxury accommodation.”

They also complained about the cleanliness of hostels and washrooms, non-availability of water on second floor, heater and cell phone facilities.

They said every hostel had one PTCL line which remained engaged most of the time.

The wardens always gave them false hopes of getting things better.

The girls hostels were last renovated in 1995. The students of hostel No 2 complained about the leakage of water. “We have reported the matter to authorities concerned but no action has so far taken,” they said.

When contacted, hall council chairman Dr Mugeesuddin Sheikh said four new residential blocks would be completed by the end of March which would accommodate 550 girls. However, he said the construction of one block would be completed within two weeks.

He said the sports hostel was being opened which would accommodate 50 girls. Some students extended their stay by using different methods which was also one of the reasons of overcrowding.

He said the university was planning to introduce a policy at the time of admission to post-graduate disciplines to stop them extending their stay.