Thane: Lack of water, dirty toilets and irregular lectures plague campus

School of Law, Mumbai University, Thane

Students at the School of Law, Mumbai University's Thane sub-campus, are grappling with subpar conditions, despite paying Rs 2.5 lakh for their five-year LLB course. The Students' Council of MU Thane Sub-Campus and Law College students have voiced concerns about neglect and unsanitary conditions on the premises.

Located in Thane's Balkum area, the School of Law at Thane Sub-Campus has been plagued by prolonged water shortages in restrooms, unchecked garbage accumulation and related issues. Students claim they have faced these problems for several years.

Broken taps, dirty toilets

Sabareesh Pillay, a final-year LLB student at the Thane sub-campus, described the situation, saying, "Broken water taps, basins and dirty toilets have become a common sight in recent months. The conservancy staff only visits once every two weeks, leaving the premises unclean with garbage piling up in many places. Most of the time, there is no water in the toilets. Even after repeated complaints, it took until Monday to restore water to the toilets."

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Students report that, despite having toilets on every floor, only those on the ground floor are functional. Pillay said, "This is a three-storey building with girls' and boys' toilets on each floor. However, due to water shortages, the toilets on the first and second floors are closed. The ceiling of the girls' toilet on the second floor was damaged recently and has not been repaired yet. Students have even spotted rats near the water filter nozzles."

Insufficient faculty

Insufficient faculty in various subjects has also been a major concern among students. Pratham Somwani, a fourth-year LLB student and deputy general secretary of the Moot Court Association, said, "Over the past two weeks, lectures have been conducted online due to frequent power cuts. Three out of six subjects have no faculty. Additionally, two faculty members have expressed their inability to conduct lectures. This situation exists in the second and third years as well. Lectures are irregular, and ID cards have not been issued to us yet. We were told we would receive a new ID card every year, but last year, we received one after six months. Even our juniors, who are not yet in their second year, have completed four semesters and are still awaiting their ID cards."

Somwani continued, "I have never seen the library open in the four years I have been on campus. Despite charging Rs 1,500 at the time of admission, canteens remain closed due to water scarcity. The toilets emit a foul odour even when you are in the corridor. Moreover, despite the Rs 50,000 we pay annually in exam fees, they charge us an additional Rs 1,600 for exams and do not provide receipts."

A water cooler and broken toilet on the campus

Issues neglected

Another third-year student said, "We have approached the director of the campus multiple times, but our issues are neglected. We wrote to him listing down 22 different issues we are facing. However, nothing has been done to resolve these issues." The students have appealed to the Bar Council of India to intervene in this matter and provide assistance.

Rs 2.5L
Fees for 5-year LLB course