New Delhi: The administration of IIT-Bombay has allowed a separate space for those not eating meat. The Institute’s mess council has allocated six tables in the hostel’s common canteen for those eating ‘vegetarian food’, The New Indian Express. The move comes two months after posters for a separate space for vegetarian students were put across one of the hostels.
A post on ‘X’ by the Students’ collective ‘Ambedkar Periyar Phule Study Circle’ (APPSC) revealed that the mess council has sent an email regarding the matter in which the council stated that the decision was taken to create a “more inclusive environment” for students.
“There is no doubt that there are some people who can’t resist the view and smell of non-vegetarian food during their dining, this may create health issues as well,” the email stated.
The email said that the designated six tables would be marked clearly with signage stating, ” This place is designated for vegetarian food ONLY”.
The controversy broke out in July when a student representative had said that RTIs and emails to the hostel’s general secretary revealed that there is no policy for food segregation at the institute, and that some individuals had taken it upon themselves to designate certain mess areas for ‘vegetarians only’ and force other students to leave that area.
The administration had also claimed the poster was ” unauthorised”, after protests by a few student organisations. He also warned of strict action if any such incident was repeated.
First there were “vegetarian only” posters, that the iitb admin had awkwardly termed as “unauthorized”, after protest by students. Then there was an unending delay in removing those. And now the admin has officially declared some tables in the mess as “for vegetarian food ONLY!” pic.twitter.com/TJFwt8BHNg
— APPSC IIT Bombay (@AppscIITb) September 27, 2023
The APPSC has termed the mess council’s policy as regressive. “After weeks of an ambiguous and awkward back and forth on the food segregation policy, the admin has finally revealed where they stand,” it said on X.
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