Young Edge: As mercury rises in Pune, students in hostels struggle without cooling options

Thousands of students from across Maharashtra and other states reside in Pune to pursue courses at the Savitribai Phule Pune University (SPPU) and other varsities or to attend coaching for competitive examinations, but they are struggling as temperatures rise in the education hub.

Shubhashree Popalghat and Sakshi Gunjal, two NEET aspirants staying in Shivajinagar, said their PG did not provide additional cooling facilities even though they are charged separately for electricity in addition to the monthly fee of Rs 5,000. Similarly, Abhidadas, a science student preparing for competitive exams, said, “Only table fans are allowed in my accommodation, which does not suffice in this weather. If they cannot provide a cooler, they should at least allow residents to bring their own.”

Payal, a student at the Brihan Maharashtra College of Commerce (BMCC), pays Rs 9,000 per month at her hostel which has no cooler or air conditioning facility. She said the only option to beat the heat is to find another place. “There are two solutions – either go to an AC restaurant or cafe in the afternoon or move out and get a flat instead,” she said.

Multi-city hostel chains like Stanza and Tribe provide air-conditioned rooms, but their rates are as high as Rs 18,000 per person for a shared room, making them unaffordable for most students.

Dr Shubham Rodge, a medical intern, said he visited around 15-20 hostels looking for a balance between price and availability of amenities. “There should be a middle ground between the affordable and luxury accommodations. Most hostels or PGs are either too expensive or, if affordable, lack basic amenities,” he said.

Among the places he visited, Rodge claimed to have found only one PG that allowed residents to bring coolers or install an AC. “But even this PG charged an unnecessarily high price for the installation of an AC, which was separate from the additional monthly fee for electricity.”

A few local hostels, however, are more reasonable. Nilesh Dongare, who owns a hostel in Model Colony, said, “We do not provide coolers but we also do not prohibit students from acquiring or renting personal ones. We charge them only for the additional electricity consumed, apart from the fixed price of Rs 8,000 per month for a double-sharing room.” He added that if the surge in electricity consumption is negligible, it is waived.

The security manager at another PG accommodation near Deccan Gymkhana said the facility had an arrangement under which air conditioners were made accessible to those who paid extra charges.