Kolkata: Non-veg food items and rotis, which consume more fuel, are falling off the menu across different hostels grappling with the LPG crisis. Instead, authorities are stressing a simple vegetarian menu, boiled items, and fruits to ensure continuity of food services.The boarders of IIT Kharagpur’s Radhakrishnan Hall of Residence were informed that roti and all non-vegetarian items will be temporarily removed from the mess menu. “Gas-intensive preparations such as omelettes and other egg dishes will not be served. Only boiled eggs will be provided along with limited breakfast items. The lunch and dinner menu will consist of simple vegetarian meals comprising plain rice, dal, and vegetable curry,” said a student.In Sister Nivedita Hall of Residence too, the boarders were told that no roti will be served. Dal and sambhar are common at lunch and dinner. “The menu on Saturday comprised sewai upma and dhaniya tomato chutney for breakfast; desi chana curry, papad, coconut water, plain rice, dal, and sambhar for lunch, and aloo beans sabji, dal, rice, and sambhar for dinner,” said another student.WBNUJS hostels also discontinued non-veg items for the time being. A student said, “We decreased the variety of items and included things that require less gas consumption. Generally, lunch and dinner consist of roti, dal, rice, two sabzis, and a non-veg item. But we decided to halt non-veg items and decrease the sabzi variety to one. We are refraining from making paneer as well. We cannot completely stop making rotis, but the quantity was reduced. We are relying on juices, shakes, and fruits for breakfast and snacks.”At New Boys’ Hostel in Jadavpur University, lunch and dinner items were curtailed to save LPG cylinders. “We fixed four items for lunch: rice, dal, veg sabzi, and a non-veg item. Previously, there were some fried items or an extra sabzi, which was discontinued temporarily. We are stressing on boiled items like eggs and potatoes,” said a staff member. He added, “The menu for the ideal dinner that is cooked every fortnight was also curtailed to a maximum of five items. Generally, it comprises 13 to 14 items. On Friday, New Boys’ Hostel’s ideal dinner only included chicken biryani. There was no chicken item, chutney and papad. We also told them that making ‘payesh’ consumes more gas; instead, they can buy sweets.” Md Asik Rahaman, a boarder of Presidency University’s Hindu Hostel, said, “We are having rice, boiled potato and egg, dal for dinner, and a veg meal comprising dal, sabji, and rice for lunch. We temporarily discontinued chicken and fish items.”
