It would do us good to note the similarity between the Maintenance Section and the Hospital. Both are turned to, only in troubled times. While that is precisely how a hospital is meant to work, a 'maintenance unit' is expected to take the initiative to maintain-in-proper-condition rather than repair-at-its-own-pace. Now that we have
a) placed our subject in the same league as the Hospital; and
b) showed that it has no excuse, where even the Hospital does;
neither of which is any imaginable form of applause, we have sufficiently biased you to see the Maintenance Section in the light it most begs to be seen in, provided you have ever heard of it.

Here are the basics. There are two departments of interest - the Electrical Maintenance Section, and the Civil Maintenance Section (EMS and CMS henceforth). The distinction of their domains is already rather clear. The EMS, which is concerned with the proper working of all fans, lights, pumps, fuses, etc. in the hostels, has always been known to be the less troublesome cousin. Its efficiency has especially improved since the introduction of the Second-Friday-Meeting system more than a year ago.

The CMS however, burdened as it already is, with the prevention of aesthetic and smell hazards, is reputedly thoroughly inefficient. Typical grievances are about letters forwarded by hostel offices, not being responded to. In Godavari for instance, the new water cooler stood unused for a month after it was bought, because the CMS took that long to respond to official letters regarding plumbing requirements. So much for 'justice delayed but never denied'- mercy can neither be delayed nor denied. And yet several tap leaks and worse still, line clogs traumatize the hostels for weeks on end.

The only reported cases of quick reaction from the CMS appear to be those following the several thefts that typically come to light at the end of every vacation. As for meetings, most former hostel General Secretaries think they were only lectures meant to evoke sympathy - one step short of being a complete waste of time. All that was ever heard was the CCW's refrain about trying to understand 'their problems', as if to say 'they' are the most unfortunate and oppressed people in our midst.

The times however, are different now. With the construction of the new bathrooms, the work of the CMS is down by an estimated 70%. What remains of their concerns is plumbing in and around the messes, and the furnishings in the rooms; and apparently, the lower the potential urgency, the less we see of them. What we see instead, are rooms without proper latches, hanging switchboards held in place by cobwebs, and a flourishing ecosystem behind Alakananda, in the swamp fed by its mess.

The current scheme of meetings seems to further reflect the hopelessness of the situation. The meetings, now held once a month, are attended only by the student secretaries. The Hostel Affairs Secretary of the institute believes it's pointless to try and indulge anyone else in these meetings as the only effect they have on progress is to hinder it. The problem exchange platform functions far more efficiently this way, when half their energies are not directed towards reprimanding the guilty parties.

While on minimising dependence on the Maintenance Section, it has been proposed, and implemented to an extent, that hostels should engage private contractors to attend to electrical problems. However, certain jobs pertaining to roads still remain strictly in its domain, and as expected, unattended to. The HAS has been particularly driven up a wall, by their indifference (despite repeated reminders) to:
a) the condition of the road that leads to Mandakini;
b) the increasing number of incidents at Skidder's Paradise, namely the narrow turning towards Saraswathi.

Although it is conveniently assumed that the girls live in the lap of luxury, Sharavati's General Secretary had a truckload of problems to report as well. And yes, they were distinctly more serious than cats in the mess! Sarayu had the standard problems with lights and plumbing. While those bygones are of little relevance now, they are a monument to the historic negligence and indifference of the Maintenance Section. Even as Sharavati now starts to get older by the day, problems of a similar kind, though less serious, have started to emerge, and the office staff are already pained no end at the response (if ever) time. So the cycle stand and a proper road remain distant dreams, and were just mentioned to me, half-hopelessly, as needs that may never be met.

It's a dirty job, to wind up an investigation as open-ended as this one turned out to be, but someone (hint: it's been proved pointless to turn to our subject in such matters!) has got to do it!