Maha orders 600 air coolers for Nagpur govt girls hostels Nagpur: After days of mounting complaints from girl students enduring extreme heat in government hostels, Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Thursday directed the installation of 600 air coolers in Nagpur facilities and mandated similar arrangements across Vidarbha. The decision is expected to benefit over 1,000 girls residing in government hostels across the city. The move follows a letter dated April 28 from nearly 100 residents of a government girls’ hostel in Besa, where temperatures hovering around 45°C left students struggling without cooling support. The students highlighted that existing policy rules prohibited the installation of coolers, a stance reiterated by hostel authorities and social welfare officials, who cited a lack of provision and funding approval. The students wrote that rising temperatures had caused severe physical distress during exam season, with several developing skin infections linked to prolonged exposure to heat. Officials informed the inmates that rules were framed by bureaucrats in Mumbai without considering Vidarbha’s extreme climate, with no provision for coolers in hostels. The absence of flexibility in the policy effectively blocked any interim relief, despite repeated appeals. A signed petition was forwarded to the chief minister’s office through BJP city president Dayashankar Tiwari, corporator Ritesh Gawande, and member Vaibhav Bawankar. Acting on the representation, the CM directed secretary Asha Pathan and the social welfare department to immediately relax norms and facilitate cooling arrangements.#nagpur #devendra_fadnavis #vidarbha #maharashtra_chief_minister #girls_hostels
