Students return to “unlocked” Pune, much to relief of hostels, messes

PUNE It’s has been tough for the last two months for Sachin Kudale, staying back in his village and preparing for further studies

PUNE It’s has been tough for the last two months for Sachin Kudale, staying back in his village and preparing for further studies.

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Now as the unlock process has started in the state, he returned to Pune on Monday and began his preparations for second semester examinations. “The major problem is internet connectivity in our village, as it is in a remote area of Ahmednagar district. I had to travel to other villages to appear for my online exams for the first semester. I didn’t have enough study material with me. Now I have come back to Pune to my hostel, where all my books and other necessary things are there,” said Kudale, a second-year law student.

Many students who went back to their villages and hometowns have started returning to Pune. There is an entire ecosystem of messes, hostels, books and stationary stores and many things, dependent on these students.

Another student, Resham Chintal, who is preparing for competitive exams said, “I come from Beed district and there are no facilities. Even electricity supply is not regular. It impacted my scheduled timetable for the forthcoming exams. Due to the strict lockdown and inter-district closure of transport I got stuck in my hometown. When the unlock began, I immediately came to Pune by a private tourist bus along with my father and have been staying in a hostel.”

In Pune, especially in the peth areas, there are many private hostels, paying-guest facilities, study centres, private coaching classes, food messes and snacks centres, which provide for students coming from outside the city limits.

Similar is the case near college campuses like Bharati Vidyapeeth, MIT College and D Y Patil in Chinchwad.

Santosh Gadhave, owner of a food mess in Navi peth, said, “Our complete business is dependent on students who come here for studies and have two meals at our mess. As the lockdown started in April, the students started going back and hardly 10 to 12 students stayed back, which impacted our business. Now students are returning, and we hope to have better business.”

Dinesh Shah, owner of a small girls’ hostel in Bharati Vidyapeeth area said, “There were seven girls at our hostel before April and then all of them went back home. It’s the same all over in Katraj. We didn’t take rent for these two months. Now slowly, one by one, students are returning to join the hostel.”