[WhatsUpUoH] An open letter to the University Engineer

Dear Mr University Engineer,

Have you heard of float valves? They cost Rs 100-200 and are available at most hardware stores. It takes a plumber less than 10 minutes to install one. They are used to prevent overflow in water tanks.

Now why do I ask? Because of this phenomena that I have been observing over the last one month-

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This is a daily scene from K hostel. Water overflows from tanks like this for 2-4 hours. Now how much water is that?

1 litre per three seconds. (yes, we measured. Thrice, and took an average, rounded to the nearest half-second).

Which is 20 litres per minute. 1200 litres per hour. Which is 4800 litres per day (assuming that this happens only for 4 hours a day, sometimes it is more).

One month, and numerous complaints later, water continues to flow. In fact, it continues to flow not just here, but in I hostel (has been quotidian since at least a year now), and several other places on campus. (no, we did not write a letter, but does the university administration need us to get a letter signed by 500 people, submit it in quadruplicate with a Rs 20 SBI challan, and sit on a hunger strike before people get up from their bureaucratic bottoms and fix float valves?)

Do you realise that this continues to happen when drought has been declared in five states already in our country? 40% of districts in India has received deficient rainfall this year. Our own Telangana has received 20% decreased rainfall. Crops are failing, farmers are committing suicide, and our university prefers to waste thousands of litres of water every day.

Please, get a few float valves and fix these tanks. Let us stop wasting so much water apathetically.

And while you are at it, please note than phenomena such as these-


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caused by approaches such as these-



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tend to beat the entire point of water purification, and leaves students in these hostels wondering about that weird algal taste in the water they drink. What are you waiting for? An outbreak of Legionnaires disease?

(this photo is from the K hostel water purifier on the roof. Three months and numerous complaints later.)

Yours sincerely,

A disgruntled student.

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