To avoid this daily turmoil, she applied for Deendayal Upadhyay Swayam Yojana in March 2020. Under this program, tribal students pursuing higher education who have not received hostel accommodation receive Rs 60,000 per year. The fund includes expenses for food and stationery.

When the Covid-19 pandemic began, the Tribal Development Department halted funding as colleges were closed. It has now been a month since colleges reopened in Maharashtra, but the tribal development department was unable to disburse the money due to a technical problem. More than 3,000 tribal students, who depend on the fund for accommodation outside university hostels, now fear they will be able to continue their education.

“In 2020, we received 108 applications under the scheme. But the finance ministry refused to disburse the money because the colleges were closed. Later, on repeated requests, they sent the money to the commissioner’s office in February 2021, ”said an officer from the Tribal Development Department. “But since then the portal where students apply for funding has faced some technical issues… we are trying to solve it. “

Shinde, whose father is a farmer, cannot afford to stay in private homes or pay rent for housing. With help coming after repeated requests, she and three other students began protesting at the college premises on Wednesday. “It costs over Rs 6,000 per month to stay rented. Either my parents will have to sell their land or I will have to give up my studies, ”said Shinde.

Another sophomore, Vandha Prakash Dudhar, 25, who also applied for the fund last year, said: “My father is disabled. My mother works on farms to pay for my studies. If the government does not pay the accommodation costs, I will have to stop studying.

On Wednesday evening, the protesting students slept on the floor of the university foyer. On Thursday they received a notice to leave the hostel.

The student association representing the tribal communities plans to expand the protest if the state ignores the request. “The government also does not give them the money or allow them to stay at the hostel. The situation is the same across the state. Since last year, they have promised to release the funds but have not done so, ”said Budhbhushan Kamble, president of the Ambedkar Student Association.

On Thursday, the state assured that technical issues would be resolved within seven days. Until then, the four students will be allowed to stay at the hostel.

Avinash Chavan, Deputy Commissioner, Office of the Tribal Development Commissioner, said, “We are working to solve the problem… we are not denying them the fund. “