Malla Reddy, Nizam College Students Protest Poor Food on Campuses

 Hyderabad: Students of Malla Reddy Engineering College in Maisammaguda and male hostelers of the Nizam College, in unrelated demonstrations, on Tuesday held protests over the poor quality of food in their respective colleges.

The issue at Malla Reddy college pertains to poor food quality in the girls’ hostel, with wriggling worms found in rice and curry served as dinner on March 4. The discovery sparked protests against the college management, with chants of “we want justice” renting the air, given that this is the third time in the recent past that students have been forced to resort to protests over poor food.

As the protest spilled over into Tuesday morning, with students reaffirming their stance against the persisting issue of insects in the food served at the hostel mess, the student body had a standoff with the authorities.

A protester said, “We cannot turn a blind eye to the blatant disregard for our health and well-being. It is unacceptable that we are subjected to such unhygienic conditions repeatedly, especially when paying lakhs of rupees as mess fees.”

Meanwhile, Nizam College boys' hostelers attempted a rasta roko with wheat flour and a huge vessel of curry cooked on Tuesday noon after growing “tired of empty promises and temporary fixes regarding their meals.”

From stinky kitchens to improperly cleaned vessels to oil-laden curries and complaints of stale and insufficient food, students' list of complaints was long. They demanded that the principal take serious and immediate steps to ensure nutritious and hygienic food on campus.

As the day progressed, the police detained a few students temporarily for creating traffic hassles in the area.

Authorities of neither Malla Reddy Engineering College nor Nizam College were available for comment.