Students, who were residing at Adi Dravidar hostels before the COVID-19 pandemic forced them to vacate and go home, miss the peace and quiet of the hostels.
They do not want to add burden to their families. Hostels were always an escape from a constrained family set-up.
An inmate of the hostel near Lotus Tank junction says he had been staying in government-run hostels since school days. A college second-year student, he lost his parents when he was young.
“Now I depend on my aunts and uncles for food. I wish I could go back to the hostel," he says.
Another inmate, studying third year, says it will be impossible to go back to the hostel for many more months.
“Friends from the hostel are part of message chains and WhatsApp groups. Some people are not doing well. The restriction in movement has caused mental strain too. All want to return to a peaceful environment,” he says.
Space to study
S. Manjula, a student of Class 12 and an inmate of a hostel in Chokkikulam, who is planning to take the National Eligibility cum Entrance Test, says students from Adi Dravidar hostels in the past had gotten to stay back and write the exams in city centres.
“Some of my seniors had attended the coaching provided by the Corporation last year. They managed to do well,” she says. She is unsure of how she might fare this year without academic support.
Ms. Manjula says that her family situation does not permit her to study through the night. “We have a small house and my father drinks,” she says.
She just cannot wait for the lockdown ordeal to end so that she can go back to the hostel and prepare for NEET where there is space to study as she wants to become a doctor.
These students receive an allowance of ₹1,500 for buying personal items.
“Before we could receive the money this year, we were asked to leave. It will be useful for us if the allowance is credited to the accounts of residents of the hostels,” he says.
Member of the SC/ST vigilance committee in the district J. Balasubramaniam says it would be useful if hostel students are given an additional bag of groceries, including rice, pulses and oil. He suggests that the money spent on food for each student can be transferred to their respective bank account by the State government to ease their financial burden.
Collector T. G. Vinay said that steps will be taken to provide provisions to the hostel students after discussing with the District Adi Dravidar Welfare Officer and the hostel wardens.