Makerere University Business School students staying at the Ideal Platinum Hostel in Nakawa were on Tuesday morning stranded as premises were filled with heavy floods. The rains were so heavy that the drainage system couldn’t accommodate the amount of rain falling at one time, and consequently, the water freely flooded the lower floors of the hostel.
According to eyewitness accounts, the flooding started in the early morning, which was when the water rose so rapidly that some of the rooms in the hostels were submerged. In panic, students rushed to retrieve their belongings as they fled from the compound. Several fled to friends’ accommodations in other hostels and found temporary shelter as the water continued to rise.
Students were also bitter with the poor drainage system and the poor infrastructure surrounding the hostel, which they blamed for the repeated flooding at the hostel whenever the rains are up. “The management of the hostel and the MUBS leaders should take up this matter seriously. We have TVs, phones, and pacos that get spoiled, yet it is not fair to compensate us for part of it,” one student exclaimed.
While the hostel management, who asked not to be named, said they would cooperate with the local authorities over the matter, students were dubious. Many said the problem keeps occurring.
No one was hurt, but property damages were great: electronic gadgets, clothes, among other personal belongings. The situation has also disrupted the academic schedules of some of the students. Students have been advised to stay in temporary accommodation until the water recedes and the repairs are made.
For now, the situation continues to be monitored as students wait for long-term solutions to prevent future flooding issues at the hostel.
