Proper nutrition, sleep elude these students

HYDERABAD: For students of the Government Blind High School (GBHS) in Darushifa, normal activities such as eating, drinking and sleeping are major challenges because of the dearth of facilities at their institution.
Students of the GBHS, established in 1939 in Devan Deorhi, and then shifted to Darushifa in 1974, have a lot to tell about their daily problems.
The school lacks proper eating and drinking water facilities. when night falls, the students problems are compounded by the fact that there is a major shortage of bed sheets in the hostel.
The drinking water being supplied through tankers is inadequate and in the dry season this problem becomes acute.
The students have no access to proper medical facilities. The doctor who is supposed to attend the students every Thursday has not been seen in the hostel for the past several years. "I have not seen the doctor in the hostel since my admission in 1995," said Shankar, a student of Class X. He is partially blind.
When the students fell sick they have to approach a nearby private clinic on their own expenses.
Mohammed Shakeel, a Class VIII student, who is totally blind, said as there is no permanent cook for the hostel, the food being cooked by others lacks quality. The curry being supplied to them lacks taste and the dal they are served is just water, he said. It is difficult to swallow rice with these curries, he said. Upender Reddy, a Class X student from Suryapet, said that there are lot of mosquitoes in the hostel. "We do not have proper bed sheets to cover ourselves. The cold and mosquitoes force us to have sleepless nights," he added.
Bureaucratic muddles aggravate the problem. Though both the buildings are located in the one-acre compound, the school is managed by the education department while the hostel is managed by the disabled welfare department.
Of the 109 students who stay in the school''s hostel, 80 students are totally blind and 29 are partially blind. Students from different districts of the state stay in the hostel that is situated in the school''s compound.
In all, 79 students have opted for the Telugu medium while 30 take classes in Urdu.