Indore: With protests by students of Indian Institute of Technology Indore (IIT-I) continuing on social media over substandard quality of meals served on campus, an audio of a suspected conversation between the protesting students and IIT-I director Pradeeep Mathur surfaced on Tuesday where the latter was heard supporting the errant Bhopal Caterers which runs mess on the campus.
“I am quite happy with Bhopal Caterers,” the director purportedly told students even as they demanded cancellation of contract of the caterer.
In the one hour recording, a girl student was heard seeking reasons of closing the popular Guru Mahima canteen without consulting them from the director, to which Mathur retaliated “Who are you to determine which cafeteria will run here in the food zones?” However, the girl promptly replied “consumer” to bring much embarrassment to the director.
Later, the director clarified that the institute never ordered for closure of the canteen and claimed that it winded up on its own. “We had asked the Guru Mahima canteen owner to meet certain criteria which he denied complying with and left for good,” Mathur said.
The audio also had a recording of a heated exchange over dissolving of the student body Gymkhana. Explaining the reason the director purportedly said that a discussion over pricing of another food zone – Tastebuds – was held with Gymkhana general secretary but he did not get the discounted price implemented and so, the body was disbanded.
Meanwhile, though protests by students ended on the campus it continued on twitter even on Tuesday. Students of the institute have made twitter handles like SaveIITIndore, RemoveDirectorIITIndore and others to gather solidarity in the fight. A post on twitter reportedly claimed that the institute had made it mandatory for its students to submit ID cards while going out of campus for nothing but only to trouble them.
