No campus, no transport, no proper hostels: GMC Jagtial medical students on indefinite protest over four-year delay

Governments have changed, multiple batches of medical students have been admitted, but nearly four years after the foundation stone was laid, students of Government Medical College (GMC), Jagtial in Telangana are still waiting for the permanent college building they were promised. They continue to attend classes organised at temporary structures and live in a rented accommodation being used as hostels.

With the permanent campus still incomplete, medical students began an indefinite, peaceful protest on Wednesday (October 7, 2026) demanding basic infrastructure, proper hostels, laboratories, transport and other facilities required for medical education.

The foundation stone for the permanent college building was laid by then Chief Minister K. Chandrashekar Rao in December 2022. But as 2026 is inching to an end with now a different government in power, students say they are yet to see the campus becoming a reality. “We have spent years studying in temporary structures that were never meant to become our permanent academic home,” said a student.

Currently, three makeshift lecture halls and three common laboratories cater to the batches. There is no proper college ground, while internal roads, drainage facilities and other basic campus infrastructure are also incomplete.

“The hostel situation is equally difficult. Instead of dedicated hostel buildings, students are being accommodated in rented apartments. Around six to eight students are staying in a room, with common washrooms for girls and boys,” said another student.

A poster circulated among students of Government Medical College (GMC), Jagtial in Telangana | Photo Credit: Special Arrangement

The absence of college transport has added another problem. Students said there is no dedicated bus facility to take them to hospitals and field locations required as part of their training. The students alleged that because of the lack of transport, not a single batch had been able to participate in the mandatory Family Adoption Programme (FAP), Rural/Urban Health Training Centre postings and community medical camps over the past three years.

“These field-based activities are mandatory components of medical education and the absence of transport is affecting our ability to meet National Medical Commission (NMC) requirements,” they added.

The students said they approached the authorities multiple times over the past two-and-a-half years, including the Jagtial MLA, District Collector, Roads and Buildings Department and contractors involved in the project. They alleged that repeated assurances had failed to resolve the problems.

The students have now sought a time-bound solution. They want the furnished hostel buildings completed and handed over by the end of October, with accommodation for at least 75% of students, interns and resident doctors. They have also sought internet-enabled reading rooms. For the academic block, they have demanded completion and handover by the end of December, with at least four functional gallery-type lecture theatres and a Central Library with adequate reading-room seating.

The prolonged delay also triggered questions from the Federation of All India Medical Association (FAIMA), which has extended support to the protesting students. FAIMA questioned how medical colleges could be allowed to continue MBBS admissions without adequate permanent buildings, hostels, lecture theatres, laboratories, transport and other essential facilities.

“If permissions are being granted without adequate physical inspection and verification of facilities, what purpose do NMC’s Minimum Standard Requirements serve?” FAIMA asked.