Sandip Kolhatkar

Ravi Sadashiv Kukade

Modern College

Savitribai Phule Pune University

Khandesh

the elders

Madhusudan Londhe

reporter

Suman

Rohit Vairage

Alka Kedari

Nashik

lecturer

Ashutosh Sapkal

Umakant Dhavare

Latur district

Wasudev Gade

vice-chancellor

RAVI KUKADE

Over the last two months,, an undergraduate student of, has been working at a tea shack outside the(SPPU) gates to earn Rs 50 a day, which adds up to a modest sum at the end of the month, but a precious purse for him as it pays for his stay on campus. Ravi, whose parents work as labourers on farmlands in Yavatmal, wishes to compete for the civil services in future. For now, he has had to resort to small jobs as his parents have been driven out of theirs, given the drought in that part of the state, to find work in Nagpur. They cannot fund Ravi’s education and are urging him to pack up and take up a job. “I am on my own. But, there is no looking back. I will not return to my village,” said Ravi.This is the story of a sizeable portion of nearly 3,000 students in the city who have come here from parched regions such as Marathwada,and Vidarbha.Most of them are working hard to resist the challenge of returning to their native lands as their families’ monetary reserves have dried out. At a time like this,are looking to them to run the home fires.“I am under great pressure to return home. It is a Herculean task for me to make ends meet here. I have not paid my mess fees for the last four months,” said, a second year student of history, at SPPU, taking small breaks between a dal-rice lunch. The young lad from Mohol, in Solapur district, urged thisto meet him at the campus cafeteria, as he could not afford to miss his lunch; he would have gone hungry through the day, otherwise. He has no action plan for a job yet, but is determined to fight it out. “My parents have no work back home; what can I do there,” he said, breaking a piece of roti. He called his mother Suman, between bites, for a customary chat, and then handed the phone to this reporter. Between sobs,stressed how she had pleaded with her son not to leave the village for Pune, as it would put a burden on them. “The situation is so bad here that even those who own farmlands are collapsing. There is no work left for us and we are all sitting idle, anticipating harder times,” said Suman. “Where can we migrate — it’s all the same everywhere.”is a student of anthropology at the varsity, who hails from Marathwada. His situation is no different and his nervousness about his immediate future stems from the fact that this year is likely to be harsher than the last. “Most of us are already skipping breakfast and surviving only on lunch and dinner. None of us can afford to spend even a penny more on food,” said Rohit.The average monthly expense of a student at the varsity’s mess is between Rs 1,800 and Rs 2,000, add to that another Rs 1,500 for other expenses. “We are having a hard time putting together Rs 3,500 every month,” added Rohit., a masters student of education, who is here from the border area betweenand Khandesh, is willing to rough it out. She wants to become aand not return home to carry on her parents’ legacy of farm labourers. “Going back is out of the question. I will stick it out here, till I find a job for myself. This is a difficult phase, but I will survive,” said Alka. Her classmate,, who also aspires to be a lecturer, is today dealing with visions of his family staring helplessly at their parched two-acre agricultural land, in Buldhana. Their soyabean crop got damaged, in the absence of rain, and “re-sowing is not an option as the family cannot bear the additional expense, with no guarantee that the crop would survive”. Although he was not born at the time,, a first year student of communication studies at SPPU, has to listen to a series of stories about the 1972 drought. “We have to wait for a full year for the next monsoon cycle, which is sure to affect the agrarian community directly. The cascading effect on students who are away from home has already begun. It is likely to get even worse,” said Umakant, who hailds fromOne of the students said that last year, when water scarcity had hit the region, the varsity had promised fee concessions to the affected students’ fees, which remained unaddressed. When Mirror brought this to the notice of Dr, SPPU, he promised to use his special powers to facilitate a learn-and-earn scheme. “We have several sponsors from the industry, who can provide financial aid to these students. I can assure that not a single student will be compelled to discontinue their education,” said Gade.█ I will stick it out here, till I find a job for myself. This is a difficult phase, but I will survive█ I am on my own. There is no looking back. I will not return to my village█ I am under great pressure to return home. It is a Herculean task to make ends meet here. I have not paid my mess fees for four months█ We have several sponsors from the industry, who can provide financial aid to these students