Students and activists allege that the five hostels under the Adi Dravidar and Tribal Welfare Department in Coimbatore district, Tamil Nadu are not functioning.
Speaking to The New Indian Express, activist M Nagendran from Coimbatore said, "SC/ST students are accommodated in 31 hostels run by the Adi Dravidar welfare department. However, out of 31, hostels located in Mettupalyam, Valparai, Karamadai, Kuniyamuthur and Vellakinar are not functioning due to reasons such as inadequate students' strength and poor maintenance."
A student, M Devaprabu, who is pursuing BSc Computer Science at Mettupalayam government arts college, told TNIE, "I am from Tiruppur and stay in a rented room at Mettupalayam for Rs 2,500 per month. Like me, many students are staying in such facilities since no government hostels are functioning here."
"Even by doing part-time jobs, we are not able to manage the living expense. So, if the government hostels are reopened it will be a great benefit for many students and we urge the officers to take necessary steps to resume the functioning of the hostels," the student said.
When asked about it, District Adi Dravidar and Tribal Welfare department officer S Ramkumar told TNIE, "Out of five, two hostels are closed due to the lack of renovation works and the other three do not have enough strength of students to function. We will take steps to resume the functioning of all hostels soon."
