Punjabi University Patiala girls stage protest against mess food

PATIALA: A large number of girl students in

Punjabi University Patiala

staged a protest against the authorities alleging that they were being served poor

mess food

from quite a long time and were forced to live in worst conditions where they do not even get drinking water sometimes.



The hostel girls alleged that they have written to the authorities numerous times about the poor mess food being served in the hostel but all had fallen on the deaf ears. They claimed that in

Ambedkar hostel

there are three blocks and in each block over 250 students are accommodated. The girls added that in each room there are five girls against the capacity of two.

The girl students of Punjabi University’s Ambedkar hostel held a protest outside the hostel gate and then took out a protest march. After this, they sat in front of VC office at around 11 am and protested till 1.30pm on Tuesday over their demands including hygiene mess food and renovation of the hostel.

The protesting girls claimed that the pathetic conditions of the bathrooms, toilets and lobbies left with broken glasses had left them in the lurch. They added that the leakages in the rooms that are already overcrowded in all the hostels had added to their woes.

The protesting girls raised the slogans against the university authorities following which they started the renovation work of the hostel.

The University authorities later in the evening claimed that tenders for renovation works were issued and the work will start soon. Besides this, the authorities visited the Ambedkar hostel and instructed the employees working in the mess to make proper arrangements and maintain the best quality of the food being served to the students.

The authorities held an urgent meeting following the protest and instructed the executive engineer to start the renovation work. The vice-chancellor

Dr BS Ghuman

said the University has spent approximately Rs 60 lakhs during the previous session for repairing and upkeep of the work. He added that the University has sanctioned Rs 38 lakh for the upgrade work during the summer vacations, the e-tendering process for which has been initiated.

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