A student found dead lizard in the food just he was about to eat the food. This incident took place in one of the government run student's hostel in Chembur.
The quality of food served to the students has been a topic of discussion for quite some time. Many colleges in the city have hostel facility around them which are available for the students. In fact, the food served at premium institute, IIT Bombay became a matter of discussion during the recently held campus elections; however, college authorities say that they do not compromise with the quality food because the health of students depends on this.
“More than the menu, our focus is on the quality, and we have put in place a list of violations for which the mess contractors get fined. If the contractor uses brands not authorized by the hostel, he has to pay a fine,” said Soumyo Mukherji, dean, student affairs, IIT-B.
Another big hostel is located at the Somaiya campus which houses nearly 1000 students. “We have a certified external agency that conducts a food audit regularly and ensures that the quality of food is maintained. There have been times when contractors have been fired if they were found at fault,” said Vijay Joshi, principal of KJ Somaiya College.Kalina campus also conducts regular checks at the hostel canteens through outside agencies but students have different opinions about this, "Just providing food should not be the only focus here, we should also be provided with good food. Since we don’t have the option of cooking in our rooms, we have to depend on this food, the quality or the menu which hasn’t changed in a long time,” said a student.