SRINAGAR: Students at the Central University of Kashmir (CUK) have voiced concern over the condition of roads and the absence of an effective drainage system at the university’s Tulmulla campus, alleging that recent rainfall caused extensive waterlogging and hampered access to classrooms.
According to the students, the main entrance to the campus was inundated after the recent spell of rain, forcing hundreds of them to wade through ankle-deep stagnant water to enter and leave the university. They alleged that inadequate drainage infrastructure and unfinished internal roads have become a recurring problem, disrupting routine academic activities.
“The entrance turns into a pond every time it rains. We have no option but to walk through dirty water just to attend classes,” a student, requesting anonymity, said. Another student described it as disappointing that a Central University continued to struggle with such basic infrastructure deficiencies.
The students further alleged that the university has two separate access points—one primarily used by students and another by university officials, including the Vice-Chancellor and administrative staff. They claimed that while the officials’ entrance is macadamised and remains free from waterlogging, the student entrance is unpaved and uneven, making it difficult to use even after light rainfall.
They also alleged that faculty members and university officials, who generally travel in private vehicles, are able to drive directly to their departments and offices and therefore do not face the same difficulties. In contrast, students said university buses drop them outside the campus, leaving them to walk through the flooded entrance to reach their classrooms.
According to the students, the waterlogging extended beyond the main entrance, with several internal pathways across the campus also submerged after the rain, affecting movement between academic blocks.
The students said the recurring problem reflects wider infrastructure shortcomings at the university. Despite being established nearly 17 years ago, they claimed that several academic departments continue to function from rented premises, while a number of essential facilities at the main campus remain incomplete.
They further alleged that repeated rainfall has exposed deficiencies in the campus’s stormwater drainage system and said temporary measures have failed to provide a lasting solution. They urged the university administration to take immediate corrective action, maintaining that the infrastructure should meet the standards expected of a premier Central University.
Established through an Act of Parliament in 2009, the Central University of Kashmir is headquartered in Ganderbal district and operates across four campuses: the Green Campus at Duderhama, the Science Campus at Nunar, the Arts Campus at Duderhama, and the 503-acre Main Campus at Tulmulla.
