THE GOAN NETWORK
PANAJI
Facing mounting pressure after two days of student protests over alleged unhygienic food served on campus, Goa University (GU) on Friday suspended its main canteen contractor pending an inquiry and announced that students would not be charged mess fees until a new caterer is appointed.
The action came after back-to-back demonstrations by the National Students' Union of India (NSUI) and the Bharatiya Janata Yuva Morcha (BJYM), both of which accused the university of failing to act despite repeated complaints about the quality and hygiene of food served at the campus mess.
The controversy escalated on Thursday when the NSUI protested and submitted a memorandum alleging that worm-infested food had been served to students. On Friday, BJYM members also staged a protest and gheraoed the Registrar, demanding immediate action against the contractor and greater accountability from the university administration.
During the protest, students alleged that the Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) had previously inspected the canteen following complaints and had detected multiple violations. They claimed that a recent inspection reportedly identified 26 violations, while an earlier inspection conducted around a year ago had found 18 irregularities.
“When we asked the FDA officials whether this was their first raid, they replied that a similar raid was conducted a year ago, during which 18 malpractices were found. The GU authorities were aware of the findings, yet the same contractor continued to serve food to students,” a protesting student alleged, speaking to the media.
Student groups also demanded the replacement of the Member Secretary of the university's Canteen Committee, alleging that repeated complaints regarding food quality and hygiene had been ignored.
Following the protests, the GU suspended the main canteen contractor pending an inquiry. It also announced that students would not be required to pay mess charges until a new catering agency is appointed.
