‘No decision yet’: Tribal Students Continue Pune Protest, Reject Claims of Withdrawal

Pune, 24th August 2026: The students from Manjari tribal hostel run by the state government staged a protest outside Sambhaji Udyan on Jangli Maharaj Road on Sunday, demanding the removal of the age limit for hostel admissions, scrapping of the centralised kitchen system, recruitment to vacant posts and implementation of the PESA Act.

The students also demanded compensation of Rs 1 crore each for the families of female students who died of snakebites in Vidarbha.

Some tribal students have been on an indefinite hunger strike at Manjari for the past 12 days, with student representatives claiming that the health of some protesters has deteriorated.

The students also took out a march from Swargate to Sambhaji Udyan as part of their protest. Nationalist Congress Party (SP) MLA Rohit Pawar visited both protest sites at Manjari and Sambhaji Udyan and extended his support to the students.

Pawar said that although the government had accepted some of the students’ demands, all their demands had not yet been addressed. He urged the concerned ministers to take the issues seriously and resolve them. He also warned that the agitation would be intensified if no solution was found by Monday.

Student representative Suraj Kokani, meanwhile, denied reports that the tribal students had withdrawn their protest. He said discussions had been held with the government for two days, but there had been no discussion at the Chief Minister’s level and no positive decision had been taken on the demands.

Kokani said the primary demand was the removal of the age limit for admission to tribal hostels. The students have also sought clarity and an increase in the number of posts in government recruitment, changes to the roster system and a resolution to the issue concerning 12,500 supernumerary posts.

He said the agitation would continue until the government holds discussions with the students and takes concrete decisions on their demands.