Problems Faced in Poor Hostels or PGs

I am often surprised at how lightly do people take the selection of their hostel or PG. I have seen it happen in all sorts of situations – hostels for schools, institutes, colleges, working people.

Whether it is laziness or a misguided sense of “saving money is good” – many young men and women are drawn to the wrong kind of facilities not realising the price they pay for not choosing wisely.

Let us look at some of the problems that are faced in poorly selected hostels or PGs:

Bad Hygiene: The very first and most visible aspect of a poor hostel is bad hygiene.  There are two ways in which bad hygiene affects you. First is the more visible way in which dirty rooms, bathrooms, common areas, beds and sheets with bugs can be a health hazard and does not make a pretty sight.

While some people (especially boys) think that they are ok with living in bad hygiene – they do not always realise the poor environment it creates for them to study in or work in – the main purpose for which they have come.

The hidden and more dangerous part of the bad hygiene is the extremely poor hygiene that is maintained in the kitchens of the hostels. If I was to show you pictures of where the food that you eat is cooked, chances are that you may not be able to eat at your hostel (or any hostel of PG for that matter) ever again in your life.

Bad hygiene in food can make you sick and waste a lot of valuable time. And while you can think that its fine and you will get well again – think what if that happens around the exam time – for which you have prepared for the whole year. Or may be even 2 years.  Take precaution around your health and don’t let a poor hostel ruin your career.

Uncaring and Untrained Hostel Management: A lot of people who start hostels have no experience in running or managing hostels. Many of them in fact come into this business because they think it’s very easy to run the hostel and there are so many students that will come that their income is guaranteed. This means that while students living there are attempting the most important exam in their lives, all that the hostel management is interested in – is their own small profit.

This shows up in many ways:

-    Not fixing Issues: issues like water availability, electric fixtures, hygiene etc take a very long time to get fixed when you complain – and some of the issues may never get fixed. This means that you are not getting the facilities that you paid for and have to live in tension all the time.

-  Poor Behaviour – Unprofessional hostel operators easily get irritated when students ask them for something and they start abusing them, start making bad stories about them or even ask the student to vacate the hostel. The poor young students, far away from home, does not know what to do- and so silently suffers or goes to another hostel – where he/she  find that the same story is going on there.

Boring and Poor Quality Food: While we already looked at how poor food hygiene is really bad for you, there is another aspect of food that you need to be aware of. And that is really boring and poor quality food.

With the purpose of making extra profit, the hostel operators keep untrained staffs which only know how to make kaddu/laukikisabzi, roti, dal aurchawal. And pretty soon, you find yourself not wanting to eat the same food again and again. And when you get super bored of the food you get each day – you start to look outside to eat some chat or some other items to break the boredom. This way not only do you end up spending more money but also risking your health – which can negatively affect your studies.

Another problem with food is the really cheap vegetables and spices that get used in preparing it. Some hostel and PG operators try to increase their profits by buying these cheap items that have poisonous adulteration that can damage your health in the long term – with issues such as bacterial infections, tumors or even cancer.

Bad Environment: Lastly, hostels and PGs that do not care about the discipline in their hostels can create really bad environment. Lack of discipline means poor hygiene, noise environment, other young people who are engaged in violence, drugs, alcohol etc.

Bad environment is enemy number one for your career success and what you need is quiet and peaceful environment, with moderately strict discipline.

I hope that you will be smart and choose your hostel carefully.