Students residing in hostels at Savitribai Phule Pune University (SPPU) have raised an alarm over repeated instances of finding hair and insects in the food served at the hostel mess and canteen facilities. Despite numerous complaints, they claim there has been a lack of decisive action from the university authorities, leaving them frustrated and concerned about their health and safety.
The issue came to light once again on Saturday, March 9, as students reported multiple occurrences of foreign objects, including hair and insects, in the food provided by the hostel mess and canteen.
These incidents have become increasingly frequent, sparking outrage among the student body. Despite lodging complaints with the university administration, students feel that their concerns have not been adequately addressed.
Students speak up
Speaking to Free Press Journal, Manisha Bhiraj Salunke, a student of the Marathi department said, "In the morning, I went for breakfast in the hostel canteen. When I took poha for breakfast, I found a dead worm in it."
"However, this is not the first time students found insects and hair in the canteen food. Canteen workers do not wear proper safety dresses to maintain hygiene and quality. Canteen workers follow proper norms when the university authority comes for checking. We have complained multiple times but no strict action has been taken yet," she said.
Tanisha Seth, a student of the India IDSS department said, "We have stopped eating canteen food after the incident, and we are forced to take it from outside."
"We are the authority to take strict action against the defaulters. Mess food should be fresh; it's a matter of student health. We are not here to pay a huge amount for non-edible food. If the canteen could not provide better quality of eateries, the authorities should allow us to cook food in our hostel itself," she added.
Rahul Sasane, a research student alleged, "Such types of incidents happened more than 10 times since last year. Your canteen vendors' tenure has expired, still, they are running their food stalls without permission. We demand the authority deploy a doctor who can inspect food quality and nutrition of canteen food. If the students are found ill who will be responsible?"
On the basis of anonymity, an officer from the dedicated department said, we have analysed the fault, and it will be resolved in ten to 15 days.
