IIT-B rubbishes claims of ban on non-veg food

Mumbai: The Indian Institute of Technology- Bombay (IIT-B) on Sunday clarified that it has not banned non-vegetarian food in the campus and rubbished all the allegations made by the students saying the institute had prohibited non-vegetarian fare in its cafeteria. Last week, the civil engineering department imposed a ban, which stirred controversy among the students’ community, after they banned sale and cooking of non-vegetarian items in their café.

“We clarify that the institute has not banned non-veg food in the campus as reported by few publications. A letter was issued to the caterer of a cafeteria atop the Civil Engineering Department for purely health and safety reasons as he was serving stale food,” said the spokesperson of IIT-B on Sunday. According to them, there is no ban of non-vegeratian food but the only rooftop cafeteria, will be shut as the terrace area is not fit for cooking. “We wish to avert any fire hazard here in the area for the health and safety concerns of our students,” the spokesperson added.

Some students also complained about serving ‘stale’ food causing food poising among the students. For the same, the institute said, “The non-vegetarian food is brought in the morning and kept till evening. Since it gets spoilt faster and is the major cause for food poisoning, the department has instructed the caterer not to serve stale food.”

In the past, students had allegedly received an email from the institute were it asked the students to use separate plates for non-vegetarian food. However, the institute clarified that they did not issue the email as they already have separate sections in their food section for the vegetarian and non-vegetarians.