Bhagalpur: Two days of incessant rain and the rising level of the Ganga have flooded hostels, staff quarters and low-lying areas of Tilka Manjhi Bhagalpur University (TMBU), disrupting campus life and raising fears of disease and snakebites.The worst-hit areas include Government Welfare Scheduled Tribe Hostel No. 3, Government Welfare Scheduled Caste Hostel No. 2 and postgraduate boys’ hostels, where rainwater mixed with overflowing drain water has inundated roads, compounds and ground-floor rooms.Students said waterlogging has made daily life miserable, with many unable to move around the campus, access food or use toilets. Some have shifted to safer places, while others remain stranded in hostels.“We feel like prisoners in our own hostel rooms,” said hostellers Anurag Kumar and Sudarshan Kumar. They said the foul-smelling water and unhygienic conditions have increased the risk of waterborne and vector-borne diseases.The flooding has also forced snakes, centipedes and other reptiles out of their habitats, posing an additional threat to students and staff.University sources said if rain continues and the Ganga rises further, floodwater could enter more hostels and residential quarters, worsening the situation.Some hostel authorities are considering shifting students from the worst-affected buildings to common rooms or upper floors until the water recedes.Government Welfare Scheduled Tribe Hostel No. 3 superintendent Deepak Kumar Dinkar said efforts were underway to drain out stagnant water and assist students. He said the district administration and Bhagalpur Municipal Corporation had been requested to pump out water and undertake sanitation measures, including the sprinkling of bleaching powder. Health officials have also been alerted to respond to any medical emergency.
