Biscuits, cakes instead of hot meals: Row at Miranda House after gas advisory blamed for menu tweaks

New Delhi: Biscuits and cakes instead of cheela and macaroni with evening tea; sandwiches replacing parathas, pav bhaji and chole bhature; and rotis only during dinner — these are among the changes introduced at the hostel mess of Miranda House, which led to protests on the campus of the premier institute on Wednesday evening.

Internal messages from the hostel mess secretary, shared with residents on a WhatsApp group, show that the menu has been scaled down over the past few days.

“Due to the worsening situation in the Gulf, there is currently a limited supply of gas from GAIL. Because of this, food items that require more gas to prepare — such as aloo fry, kadhi and parathas — will not be provided for the time being,” according to a message.

Another notice reads: “In teashare (evening snack time), food will be prepared in the mess only once a week. On the remaining days, packaged food will be provided. Roti will be served only during dinner. All meals will consist of simple dishes that require less gas. This arrangement will remain in effect until further notice.”

A third communication explains the constraints. “Parathas have been temporarily removed from the breakfast menu. Instead, toasted bread and sandwiches will be provided. For items like chicken biryani, a lot of vegetables need to be fried, which is not possible with low gas pressure. Pav requires butter toasting using around eight burners, which is not feasible right now.”

The college administration, however, denied that there has been any arbitrary cut in food services, stating that changes were made in consultation with students following an advisory from IGL to reduce gas consumption by 20%.

IGL officials said on Thursday that there was no disruption in supply to educational institutions, hostels, hospitals and canteens, and that supply is likely to remain unaffected.

In the second week of March, an IGL communication to colleges and other industrial and commercial PNG consumers had advised them to maintain gas usage at 80% of the average consumption in the previous six months. This followed a notification issued by the Centre, prioritising domestic gas supply, followed by the fertiliser sector and then industrial and commercial consumers.

Principal Bijayalaxmi Nanda said she did not receive any formal complaint and that the authorities had engaged with protesting students, assuring them their concerns would be addressed. “The mess menu is decided by the students themselves. We ensure they get proper nutritious food. The college is not facing any kind of crisis in gas supply,” she said.

Students, however, said that typical evening “teashare” items, such as aloo tikki, pakoda, kachori, chowmein and macaroni have largely been replaced by packaged food. Some claimed that following the protest, meals temporarily improved on Thursday, with items like rajma chawal and roti served at lunch.

Around 300 students reside at the Miranda House hostel.

Responding to the allegations, bursar and hostel committee member Nandini Dutta said the changes in the menu were made after consultation with students and were not imposed on them. “We received an advisory to restrict PNG usage to 80% of the last six months’ consumption. Based on that, and after discussion with the students, some adjustments were made,” she said.

On packaged food being served, she said it was introduced with students’ consent and “is not provided every day”. On rotis being rationed, she added that the students were given an option to choose between lunch and dinner to help manage the usage of gas.

Dutta also said that on the day of the protest, regular meals, including chicken and paneer, were served, and that some students chose to protest over broader concerns regarding the overall food experience.

She added that the demonstration escalated when some students attempted to move the protest outside the hostel premises, following which members of Left-affiliated groups and ABVP joined in. “We met the protesters, addressed their concerns and assured them that the needful will be done,” Dutta said.

The administration has procured four induction units as a temporary measure, though officials noted that large-scale cooking on them may not be fully sustainable.

A meeting with the aggrieved students has been scheduled for April 4, according to the students.