To the Authorities of NIT, IIIT Agartala, 

We, the undersigned students of NIT and IIIT Agartala, collectively submit this petition to demand immediate action regarding the basic facilities and standards of living provided within the institute's hostels. 

The issues outlined below are not demands for luxury, convenience or preferential treatment. Clean drinking water, safe and nutritionally adequate food, reliable electricity and accountable administration are basic necessities that every student residing in an institutional hostel is entitled to expect. 

Students should not have to repeatedly raise individual complaints, navigate prolonged administrative procedures or accept inadequate living conditions as an unavoidable part of hostel life. 

We therefore place the following demands before the authorities. 

1. SAFE AND CLEAN DRINKING WATER 

We demand the provision of safe, clean and potable drinking water across all hostel facilities. 

·        Regular testing of drinking water quality by an authorised/qualified laboratory. 

·        A publicly accessible water-quality report once every month, containing the date of testing, parameters tested and test results. 

·        Immediate corrective action wherever any water-quality parameter is found to fall outside permissible limits. 

·        Regular cleaning and maintenance of water purifiers, storage tanks, pipelines and other drinking-water infrastructure. 

·        Prompt notification to students whenever drinking water is found to be unsafe, together with information regarding the corrective measures being undertaken. 

Our demand is simple: students must be able to know that the water they consume is safe. Water quality should be established through regular testing and transparency, rather than assumed. 

2. CLEAN, HYGIENIC, SAFE AND NUTRITIONALLY ADEQUATE FOOD 

We demand that the food provided in hostel messes meet basic standards of hygiene, food safety, nutritional adequacy and quantity, with these standards subject to continuous and transparent evaluation. 

A. Hygiene and food safety 

·        Regular and independent hygiene inspections of hostel messes and the spaces in which food is prepared, stored and served. 

·        Evaluation of the cleanliness and sanitation of kitchens, storage areas, cooking equipment and dining areas. 

·        Evaluation of the safe storage and handling of food and ingredients. 

·        Appropriate health and hygiene checks of personnel involved in food preparation and serving. 

·        Proper investigation and documentation of incidents involving foreign objects, contamination or other hygiene-related issues in food served to students. 

·        Regular quality checks of raw materials and products used in the mess, including oil, milk, eggs, bread, grains, vegetables and other commonly used ingredients, to ensure that they are safe, fit for consumption and meet applicable quality standards. 

B. Nutritional and quantitative adequacy 

We demand a nutritional and quantitative evaluation of the food served, independent of subjective considerations such as taste or personal preference. 

This evaluation should assess the approximate nutritional content of meals served three times a day, including: 

·        Protein 

·        Carbohydrates 

·        Fats 

·        Fibre 

·        Calories 

·        Other relevant micronutrients where feasible 

The quantity and nutritional composition of meals should be evaluated against the dietary requirements of students in the 18–22 age group, recognising that hostel mess food constitutes a substantial part of students' daily diet. 

A publicly accessible monthly report should contain the findings of these hygiene, food-quality and nutritional evaluations, deficiencies identified and corrective action taken. 

Where a food-safety or hygiene violation is identified, prompt corrective action must follow. 

This demand is not about regulating taste or individual dietary preferences. It is about ensuring that students are provided food that is safe, hygienic, sufficient in quantity and nutritionally adequate. 

3. RELIABLE ELECTRICITY SUPPLY AND ESSENTIAL BACKUP INFRASTRUCTURE 

We demand a reliable electricity supply across all hostel premises, including during periods of rain, storms, grid failures and other external disruptions. 

·        Electricity should be available in the hostel for at least 80% of the total time, including during periods of adverse weather and other unavoidable external disruptions. 

·        Where uninterrupted supply from the main grid cannot be guaranteed, the administration must establish adequate backup infrastructure, including generators, solar power systems, battery/inverter systems or other appropriate solutions. 

·        Essential hostel facilities must remain operational during power outages. 

·        Water availability in hostel washrooms must not be disrupted solely because of a failure in electricity supply. 

·        Water pumps and other infrastructure necessary for basic water supply must therefore have adequate backup power. 

·        Essential services including water supply, washrooms and drinking-water systems should be prioritised during power outages. 

·        All backup power systems should be regularly maintained and tested to ensure that they are functional when required. 

·        Major power disruptions should be communicated to students, together with the reason for the disruption, expected duration and measures being taken to restore essential services. 

While certain power disruptions may be unavoidable, prolonged loss of electricity and the consequent loss of basic necessities are not acceptable. Students must not be left without access to essential services because adequate contingency infrastructure has not been provided. 

4. TRANSPARENCY, ACCOUNTABILITY AND PUBLIC COMMITMENT 

We demand transparency and accountability from the authorities regarding the systemic shortcomings in hostel facilities and the impact these shortcomings have had on students. 

·        A public acknowledgement by the administration of the deficiencies and systemic failures in the provision and maintenance of basic hostel facilities. 

·        A formal acknowledgement of the inconvenience, distress and hardship experienced by students, accompanied by an apology to the students affected. 

·        A clear assurance that corrective action will be undertaken to address the issues raised in this petition. 

·        A time-bound action plan specifying the measures to be taken, expected timelines and, where applicable, the authorities/departments responsible for implementation. 

·        Regular public progress reports regarding the implementation of these measures. 

·        A commitment that the administration will accept accountability if promised corrective measures are not implemented within the stated timelines without adequate explanation. 

·        The administration should directly issue its acknowledgement and action plan as a publicly accessible document to all students. 

·        All subsequent updates, progress reports and relevant inspection/evaluation reports concerning these demands should likewise be made publicly accessible to students. 

Students deserve to know not merely that their concerns have been heard, but what will be done, by when, and who will be responsible for ensuring that it is done. 

THESE ARE BASIC AND NON-NEGOTIABLE DEMANDS 

The demands contained in this petition concern basic necessities of hostel life. 

We are not demanding luxury facilities. We are not demanding preferential treatment. We are demanding the minimum standards necessary for students to live, eat, study and reside in their hostel with basic dignity, safety and security. 

Clean drinking water. Safe and nutritionally adequate food. Reliable electricity. Transparency and accountability. 

These should not be matters that students have to repeatedly fight for. 

By signing this petition, we collectively call upon the authorities to acknowledge these concerns and undertake specific, measurable and time-bound corrective action. 

We also make clear that continued failure to address these basic demands, or failure to honour commitments made in response to them, will leave students with no reasonable alternative but to collectively and peacefully mobilise in protest and pursue further public and institutional action until these concerns are addressed. 

This petition represents a collective demand for basic living standards, dignity, transparency and accountability. 

We ask the authorities to act, not merely to acknowledge. 

OUR REQUEST TO THE AUTHORITIES 

·        Publicly acknowledge this petition. 

·        Publish a written response to each demand. 

·        Provide a time-bound action plan. 

·        Make the response publicly available to all students. 

·        Remain publicly accountable for the implementation of its commitments.