Pune: The Savitribai Phule Pune University (SPPU) administration has written to the Pune district collector requesting him to issue orders to their LPG suppliers for providing them with either commercial or domestic LPG cylinders.According to the letter, sent by acting registrar Charushila Gayake on Saturday, there are 5,000 students residing on the campus. Due to the lack of commercial cylinders, some canteens and messes on the premises of the university have been closed. Many others are likely to close soon. Gayake, however, did not respond to calls and messages from TOI till the time of going to press.In a conversation with TOI, students said number of food items was reduced in their menu in the refectory and boys hostel mess. The girls in hostel, on the other hand, were served only lentil and rice for lunch since Friday.Pranita Udmale said, “Even on Saturday night, chapatis were not made properly and the sabji (vegetable) was not enough. Even in Saturday lunch, we had lentil and rice in girls hostel because the vendor couldn’t get LPG cylinders.”Students Federation of India (SFI) took out a protest march on Saturday from the refectory to the main building of the university to underline the problems faced by students due to the LPG crisis during the examinsation period of March-April.The acting registrar has issued a public notice regarding the food supply in the dining halls within the university campus. In this notice, she stated that efforts in full intensity were being undertaken at the university level to address the gas shortage and that the students dining in these halls should be rest assured regarding this matter.“The pertinent question, however, was that there remained a lack of clarity regarding the exact nature of the remedial measures implemented by the university administration. Gradually, the variety and quantity of food items served across all messes, cafeterias and dining halls have been curtailed. What was, then, the alternative?” said Rahul Sasane,president of University Student Struggle Action Committee.Abhishek Shinde, a university student and member of SFI told TOI, “The mess in boys’ hostel has reduced one sabji in the menu from the earlier menu of two kinds of vegetables because they did not have enough LPG cylinders. We want the university administration to look into it and ensure that vendors get cylinders on time. They can’t even go home at this moment because this is the examination period.”Meanwhile, Shivaji Uttarkar, secretary of the Canteen Quality Control Committee, told TOI that after it came to their notice that the mess operators were facing challenges, the SPPU officials had contacted the collector office. “His office instructed our distributors to ensure we get two cylinders per facility. We have four messes, so we would get 8 cylinders which should be enough to cater to the needs.”“It was imperative that the university administration, along with the Mess and Vigilance Committee, would take appropriate measures to ensure that students residing in the university hostels do not face any inconvenience due to a lack of meals,” said Abhishek Shelkar, a political science student and member of University Student Struggle Action Committee of Maharashtra.“In the event of a gas shortage, the university administration must adopt alternative strategic measures to provide students with high-quality and nutritious food. We have been consistently pressing this demand on behalf of the committee. Should any student encounter any difficulties whatsoever regarding their meals, they have been requested to contact the committee office-bearers immediately,” Shelkar said.
