Mysuru:  The new Maharani’s Commerce and Management College for Women on Valmiki Road in Paduvarahalli is definitely an eye-catching building which looks like it is provided with all modern amenities. Sadly, however, many problems continue to plague the girls studying here.

Earlier, nearly 9,000 girls had to study in the congested Maharani’s Arts and Commerce College building on JLB Road with hardly any toilets and insufficient classrooms. However, with the construction of the new building on Valmiki Road, the students of Commerce and Management felt that their problems had come to an end.

Major issues: The florists, who were earlier located on the same side of the footpath as the College, have now been vacated and given a place diagonally opposite to the College. However, a Nandini Milk booth is still there.

Here, more than milk and its products, tea, coffee and cigarettes are being sold. Since the shop is located right near the gate, the girl students feel uncomfortable to walk on the road as a few of the mischief-makers smoking cigarettes blow smoke rings and tease the girls.

Despite the ban on sale of tobacco products near schools and colleges, it looks like it has not been implemented here and the impunity with which the rule is ignored is quite disgusting, said a girl student speaking to Star of Mysore on condition of anonymity.

The footpath in front of the College has still not been repaired. After laying the concrete, the work has still not been completed. The open storm water drain is already filled with garbage.

Forced to walk: One of the major problems the girls are facing is lack of transport and nothing has been done about it till now. The students are forced to walk from Metropole Circle or Akashavani Circle to reach the college and again walk to catch buses to their respective destinations, even now.

They all are keeping quiet as they do not have a voice to express their problems. This is because they fear the backlash of the authorities concerned and the students are silently suffering. At least now, the College authorities and the people’s representatives should come to the aid of the girl students and solve their problems, said a few parents to SOM.

Learn lessons from seeing if not listening

Some members of the public, who have identified the problems faced by the Maharani’s College for Commerce and Management, feel that the authorities concerned here must at least learn from what other educational institutions have done to improve the quality of life for the students by seeing if not listening, especially girls, in their colleges.

All they have to do is see Sri Dharmasthala Manjunatheswara (SDM) College for Women. This College is a classic example of how much care Dharmasthala Dharmadikari Dr. Veerendra Heggade takes with regard to the girls studying in the college. The girls who are concerned about their personal care and beauty also expect a degree of facilities in the colleges they study.

Apart from the complaints they might have regarding the problems related to teachers not taking classes, food in the hostel is not good, there are a few problems which are very private and cannot be easily shared. It is in this background that the Administration and the local elected representatives must identify the problems and solve them, said the parents of the students.