Mumbai: The canteen at the Topiwala National Medical College and BYL Nair Charitable Hospital hostel at Haji Ali has been non-functional for nearly two months, forcing over 400 student residents to rely on street food or order food via online aggregators, spending at least ₹250-300 per meal. Canteen services have been suspended over pending rent and students are being provided meals via the college canteen, said the college administration. But hostel residents said the supply was erratic and quality, poor.
₹80-100, which a majority of residents depended on” title=”The canteen served simple meals for ₹80-100, which a majority of residents depended on” />On July 31, hostel residents submitted a letter to the dean, Dr Shailesh Mohite, through the hostel warden, seeking urgent resumption of canteen services, especially in light of their impending final examination.
“The closure of the canteen has not only affected students’ dining experience
but also impacted their health and well-being…external food sources are not affordable for many of the students,” said the letter.
The hostel canteen was shut on May 27 as the vendor did not have the requisite health and fire licenses and had not paid rent for almost two years, said officials from the college administration.
“The student body was taken into consideration while making the decision to remove the vendor,” said Dr Mohite.
The vendor acquired both licenses within a month of the canteen’s closure, said an official. “But since they did not reach out to us to clear the pending rent, the canteen is still shut,” the official told Hindustan Times.
In conversations with resident students, the vendor claimed they had not received any payment details from the administration. There was also some confusion over whether the pending amount must be deposited in the account of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC), which runs the medical college and hospital, or the account of the college gymkhana, the vendor told students.
Dr Mohite, however, clarified that the rent always goes to the BMC and the vendor had not come forward to make the payment.
“Why must we suffer due to some administrative confusion,” said a hostel resident, requesting anonymity. “Food in this area is expensive, and we can’t afford to spend ₹250–300 for every meal.”
The canteen served simple meals for ₹80-100, which a majority of residents depended on, the student said.
“For those of us who can’t afford ordering food from online platforms, we are forced to rely on street food for all three meals, which puts our health at serious risk,” the student said.
The dean said since the closure of the hostel canteen, inmates were being supplied food from the college canteen. But students claimed the supply was erratic, with no lunch served on most days.
“Moreover, the same items are served everyday and we are not consulted on the menu,” said the student quoted earlier.