The King George’s Medical University (KGMU) has banned the cooking and serving of non-vegetarian food in all its hostel messes after governor Anandiben Patel flagged food quality and hygiene lapses during the university’s 22nd convocation on Monday. Written directions have been issued to 18 major and three smaller hostel messes, officials said.
The move comes barely two months after the Uttar Pradesh government approved its One District-One Cuisine (ODOC) scheme, under which all 75 districts were assigned only vegetarian signature dishes. Lucknow’s globally acclaimed Awadhi delicacies, including galawati kebab, Kakori kebab, Awadhi biryani and nahari-kulcha, were excluded despite the city’s bid for Unesco’s Creative Cities Network for Gastronomy.
Chief provost Prof KK Sawlani said a written order had been issued to all 21 hostel messes directing them to immediately stop cooking and serving non-vegetarian food.
The decision follows inspections by Jan Bhavan teams, which found non-vegetarian food being cooked in three hostel messes and expired spices being used in two others. While the governor did not explicitly order a ban on non-vegetarian food, she directed the university to improve food quality, hygiene and student amenities.
KGMU spokesperson Prof KK Singh clarified that the restriction applies only to university-run hostel messes and cooperative kitchens. Students are free to consume non-vegetarian food purchased from outside or prepare it privately, but it will no longer be cooked or served in hostel messes, he said.
The decision has, however, drawn criticism from some faculty members, who questioned the need for a ban. They pointed out that KGMU attracts students from across the country with diverse dietary preferences. They added that students had earlier been allowed to prepare their own food, including non-vegetarian meals, in two or three smaller hostel messes, but have now been directed to stop.
Dr Kumar Shantanu, a member of the medical university’s media cell, said vice-chancellor Prof Soniya Nityanand has constituted a six-member task force headed by Prof Anju Agarwal to address the issues highlighted by the governor and improve food quality, hygiene and other student facilities within 15 days.
The governor also directed the university to strengthen quality checks, improve the quality of paneer served in hostels and install washing machines in all 18 hostels. Officials said corrective measures, including the removal of expired food items, had already begun.
Dean of student welfare Prof Rashmi Kushwaha said she had not yet discussed the decision with students.
The development has reignited debate over the state’s evolving food policy following the exclusion of non-vegetarian cuisine from the ODOC scheme, despite the government’s earlier projection of Lucknow as a global destination for Awadhi cuisine during its Unesco gastronomy nomination.
Reacting to the decision, general secretary of All India Shia Personal Law Board (AISPLB) Maulana Yasoob Abbas said educational institutions were free to frame their own rules. “Students who wish to eat non-vegetarian food can do so outside the campus. There is no need to politicise the issue,” he said.
KGMU authorities maintained that the restriction is an administrative measure aimed solely at improving food quality, hygiene and the functioning of hostel messes in the wake of the governor’s observations.
