On day three after 192 tribal students were kicked out of the Adivasi Hostel in Padgha, Panvel because the state government has not paid their hostel fees, the students who are preparing for upcoming exams in engineering, medicine, agriculture and so on continue to suffer.
On day three after 192 tribal students were kicked out of the Adivasi Hostel in Padgha, Panvel because the state government has not paid their hostel fees, the students who are preparing for upcoming exams in engineering, medicine, agriculture and so on continue to suffer.
Government officials have yet not taken any decision on the matter, even as the hostel is owed outstanding dues to the tune of Rs12,84,000 since 2013.
When we spoke to Vishnu Popeta, caretaker of the hostel, he said he needed some assurance about when the government intended to settle the dues. "I am ready to allow students to stay if the government assures me that it would pay at least some of the pending rent amount. I do not have any other job, and I have my ailing mother, an unmarried sister, my wife and four children to take care of. I need at least Rs4 lakh for them.
Last year, the tribal welfare officer suggested to me to build a separate building for mess and canteen, which would cost Rs8 lakh but I don't have funds for that either. So I had to take that decsion to expel the students from the hostel. The government should at least assure me when it intends to pay me."
The students, meanwhile, have been shifted to other hostels, leading to overcrowding and a scramble for limited facilities.
On Saturday, students said, additional tribal commissioner (ATC) Milind Gavande gave a statement saying the authorities would look for a new building for the students to resolve the issue, but there was no certainty about when this would come about and how. Students said officials have not had a word with them about their .
When dna had a word with ATC Gavande, he said, "I assumed this office two days ago. I am gathering information about the issue. We are doing our work. Others don't need to interfere in our work and I am not liable to give any answer about what we are doing."Gavande himself doesn't know how much time he needs to bring order to the situation, because he is unaware of the details. One of the students said they are afraid of some issue cropping up during their final agriculture exam.
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