Despite warning of the University Grants Commission (UGC) to ensure canteen/mess operators of universities and their affiliated colleges to take license under Food Safety and Standards (FSSAI) Act 2006 which states that “No person shall commence any food business unless he or she possesses a valid license”, majority of institutions fail to grant the permit. In the year 2016, UGC released notification to the universities and affiliated colleges to take official license from FSSAI on mandatory basis under the Act to ensure quality of food being delivered in the mess and canteen. Ironically, none of the university or affiliated colleges followed the guidelines yet. Even, prestigious Maulana Azad National Institute of Technology (MANIT), Barkatullah University (BU), Rajiv Gandhi Proudyogiki Vishwavidyalaya (RGPV), MCNUJC, Career College, Nutan College, MLB, MVM and other popular colleges in State capital Bhopal could not grant license under the Act.

 

UGC guideline also stated that FSSAI will conduct instruction exercise for food handlers employed in the canteen, messes of universities and colleges to better the quality of food being served there. Many complaints and sit-in have been staged by the students groups of MANIT, RGPV, BU and other renowned university and colleges of Bhopal regarding poor quality of food being served in the canteen as well as mess. In past, BU hostellers have demonstrated many times for the poor quality of food being served in the mess. If we talk about prestigious NIT, several protest was carried out by the hostellers for providing unhealthy and poor food. Talking to ‘The Hitavada’, Sudhir Bhadauriya, hostel in-charge of RGPV, said, “We provide neat and clean food in the canteen and no complaint has been received in this regards yet. There are two hostels for girls, three for boys and total four mess for the students.