Students of Osmania University are still paying the price of the Telangana agitation two years ago when seven buses were burnt by them. Since then no APSRTC bus plies through the university campus. Students staying at Osmania University hostels and studying in government colleges outside the campus have to walk long distances to access public transport. The worst affected are women students residing in Osmania University women’s hostels.
Ms Kavitha Devi, 23, an M.Sc student at Koti Women’s College said, “Every morning I have to walk 2 km towards Vidhya Nagar to board a bus. While returning from college it gets scary as we have to walk through the campus road which is generally deserted, and there is not much security as well.” Another student, Ms Kusum Singh, 22, studying MA at the Nizam College said, “I find it difficult during exams as a lot of time gets wasted in traveling as we can’t get transport from the Osmania University hostel and autorickshaws demand double fares.”
The buses that regularly passed through the campus were 3 H, 3 K, 136 J, 107 D and 107V, connecting major bus stops in the Twin Cities. Students also complain that even after submitting petitions to APSRTC officials several times, there’s not even a single RTC bus plying through the Osmania University campus. ABVP joint secretary Prem Pavan said, “Buses have stopped plying through this area since December 20, 2009.When we approached APSRTC officials, they asked the University authorities to submit a guarantee letter that no government buses would be damaged during any kind of agitations. However, till date we have not received any formal approval for bus connectivity from APSRTC officials.”
When contacted, a senior official of APSRTC’s Hyderabad Zone, said, “We have stopped RTC bus services through the OU campus following an order from the police. The Osmania University campus is a restricted area that sees regular disturbance due to several reasons.”