Sunil Bhoye (24), an LLB student and a tribal from Jawhar Taluka in Thane, said the students have anyway not been served any food for two days. The contractor responsible for supplying the meals had not been paid for three months, according to Bhoye. “Buying food from outside is becoming unafforable,” Bhoye said.

The hostel, a dilapidated, one-storey building near Birla College in Kalyan is home to tribal students who leave their homes for higher education. The 75 residents range from junior college students to those pursuing post graduate courses. The hostel, set up under a scheme of the Tribal Development department of the state government, is supposed to provide the residents with food, shelter and basic amenities including stationery.

“The sewerage line in the hostel always overflows,” Bhoye added. “The drainage water seeps into our room all the time. It is so unhygienic.”

“The rooms too are in a bad shape. There are no lights in some rooms and windowpanes and doors are broken at various places. The toilets are unclean and stinky and many of us have fallen ill,” added Pravin Waghmare, another student. Waghmare is pursuing a course at the J J School of Arts.

Additional Commissioner for Tribal Development D S Patil said the hostel had made arrangements for an alternative food contractor, but the students had refused to accept the food. “We had also requested the contractor to continue offering the service for the next eight days, but that has now stopped as it has become unaffordable for her.”

He added that a proposal had been forwarded to the government regarding improving amenities in the hostel. “A decision on this should be taken in next one or two days,” said Patil.