Despite several measures, ragging continues

JAIPUR: Despite the arrest of eight medical students on the charge of ragging, and authorities claiming to have put stringent measures to check such incidents, students in various girls' hostels say ragging continues to be a common practice.
The degree of ragging varies from a n informal introduction session to following a weekly uniform dress code, or washing clothes for seniors to cleaning toilets or performing sleazy acts in public.
The ragging incidences at girls' hostels have put many girls on a piquant situation, who otherwise prefer hostels over paying guests accommodations and single rooms.
"We have heard about several incidents of ragging at girls' hostel, where juniors have been asked to perform menial tasks, or put in an embarrassing position and the recent incident has increased our fears. We are rethinking our decision to stay in a hostel and may eventually take a PG accommodation," said two girls, who are seeking admission at a private management institute in the city.
Another girl, a former student of a city engineering college, recalled a ragging incident at her hostel when some of her seniors were ragged by their seniors. "It was only later that the college administration got the information, following which the students were suspended for a week and an advisory was issued for the hostellers," she said.
Despite administrative action, the mental scars left by ragging can jeopardize a student's life. "Our seniors laughed at us and passed comments if we did not follow their instructions. My first few months in the hostel were a horrifying experience. I spent hours crying in my room, and often called up my parents and pleaded them to take me out of this place," a hosteller at a private city engineering college, said.
"Many girls come from small towns and find it extremely difficult to adjust to the city ways. Already vulnerable, if they do not find support from their seniors and were asked to perform odd tasks, it can shatter their confidence and hamper their educational prospects in the long run," said Puja Chaudhary, an MBA student and a hosteller at Kasturba Hostel, Rajasthan University.