Pune, 24th August 2026: The indefinite hunger strike by students of the Government Tribal Hostel at Manjari Stud Farm entered its 11th day on Sunday, with four students hospitalized after their health deteriorated.
The students have been demanding implementation of the government decision taken in 2011 on tribal hostels, along with action on a total of 40 demands.
The students staged a protest in front of Chhatrapati Sambhaji Maharaj Garden on Sunday. They warned that the agitation would be intensified if the government failed to take a concrete decision by Monday evening (August 24).
The major demands raised by the protesting students include:
Revoke the 2026 government decision concerning tribal hostels and implement the 2011 decision.
Fill the remaining 12,500 vacant government posts.
Increase the amount provided to students through Direct Benefit Transfer (DBT).
Provide computers to students and complete the admission process on time.
Give students six months to submit caste validity certificates.
Construct hostels in central parts of cities.
Provide unemployment allowance to unemployed tribal youth.
Ensure availability of bus passes for students.
Conduct a region-wise survey of tribal communities across Maharashtra.
Student representatives Suraj Kokane, Saurabh Bande, Bhau Korde, Shweta Irank, Nisha Sable, Nikita Mechkar, Vishal Kokane and Kiran Mundhe said the government had failed to take the agitation seriously despite the protest continuing for 11 days.
They said the project officer had agreed to some demands that could be addressed at the local level, but issues requiring decisions by the state government remained unresolved. They also alleged that funds meant for tribal development were not being effectively used to provide students with basic facilities.
Nandurbar MP Goyal Palve, MLA Rohit Pawar, former MLA Kapil Patil, Yashomati Thakur and Hanumant Pawar visited the protest site and spoke to the students.
Rohit Pawar said that if the government failed to resolve the students’ concerns by Monday evening, the Nationalist Congress Party (Sharadchandra Pawar) and other like-minded parties would join the students and launch a stronger agitation for their demands.
Ganesh Iwante, Project Officer at the Tribal Development Department’s Ghodegaon Project Office, said demands falling under his authority would be addressed.
He said students had been offered an opportunity to discuss higher-level demands with senior officials, secretaries and ministers through a video call, but they declined. A committee has now been formed to facilitate discussions between both sides, and efforts are underway to resolve the issue soon.