Thiruvanathapuram: Years after the foundation was laid, the construction of the Aryanad Government Industrial Training Institute (ITI) hostel remains stalled. Beyond a bare framework of pillars and beams, no further work was ever carried out.

Decades of exposure have weathered the structure to the point where it is no longer structurally sound enough to build upon, a grim reality for the institution’s students, predominantly from SC and ST communities across Keralam, who bear the brunt of this neglect.

Ever since the ITI was established, the hostel has been forced to operate out of rented quarters. In 2009, the government sanctioned ₹1.3 crore to construct a dedicated hostel building behind the ITI campus. That same year, preliminary work began on a 15-cent plot at an initial expenditure of ₹15 lakh. However, the project ground to an abrupt halt following a dispute between the contractor and the Public Works Department (PWD) over the clearance of a running bill.

The matter soon ended up in court. Though the dispute was eventually settled and the contractor paid for the work completed as per the court's verdict, subsequent efforts to re-tender the remaining work went nowhere.

During the tenure of the previous LDF administration, MLA G. Stephen raised the plight of the hostel via a submission in the Legislative Assembly. Following this, officials from the Highway Research Institute inspected the site and suggested completing the structure using temporary roofing sheets. However, the Department Civil Monitoring Committee rejected the recommendation. Instead, they directed that the deteriorating structure be demolished entirely and a fresh estimate prepared for a new three-story building capable of housing 200 students, complete with a dining hall. Yet, this plan remained solely on paper.

Today, the institute caters to over 700 students from various districts across the state. The hostel continues to function out of a rented private building nearby, draining ₹18,000 every month in rent. To make matters worse, the students are left to fend for themselves to cover their daily mess expenses.

Plans were also mooted for the comprehensive development of the ITI by drafting a ₹50-crore Detailed Project Report (DPR) under NABARD’s Rural Infrastructure Development Fund (RIDF). However, because the authorities could not mobilize the 1.5% upfront fee required for the agency preparing the DPR, that initiative also hit a dead end.