Mangaluru: Citing unhappiness with the poor quality of food, postgraduate students living in the boys’ dormitory at Mangalore University’s Konaje campus spontaneously protested on Wednesday. As a proactive response to the issues raised by the students, university administrators are improving the quality of the meals. The institution is also thinking of employing experienced chefs in order to address problems caused by erratic work schedules because it’s thought that food cooked by assistant cooks is of lower quality.
Around 250 MU hostel residents protested outside the vice-chancellor’s home late on Wednesday night using expired food containers to voice their displeasure with the inadequate meals they were receiving. The men’s dormitory includes 450 convicts from all across the state, according to Govindaraju BM, assistant professor and warden. The institution serves vegetarian meals.
Four assistants and two head cooks are needed in the kitchen. But, the issue I have seen in my three years as a warden is that none of the cooks remain for extended periods of time. It’s a mess when they quit their jobs. We have been asking a lot of hotels and other establishments to supply us with excellent chefs, but to no avail. There are currently only two assistant cooks and one head cook, he said, adding that this causes problems with the cuisine.
Govindaraju insisted that the presentation was run by assistants and that the chief cook was away, which is what sparked the flash protest. That evening, there was not enough food for ten to fifteen individuals. The prisoners also observed that the afternoon’s remaining food had gone bad and had been stored for disposal. He clarified that there are no other issues at the hostel besides food by saying, “They had brought the same in front of the VC’s house during the protest.” “Every other issue is resolved in order of priority,” he continued.
