Pune University Forms New Committee to Ensure Clean, Healthy Meals in Hostels
Pune University launches a hostel meals oversight committee after repeated hygiene complaints; inspections and reforms on the way.
Pune, October 10, 2025: Savitribai Phule Pune University has responded to growing outcry over hostel meal hygiene by constituting a special oversight committee tasked with ensuring that students receive clean, nutritious food. This comes in the wake of several incidents—worms, insects, and even maggots found in meals—that sparked protests and demands for accountability from the student community.
The newly formed committee includes members from the student body, university administration, and relevant medical and catering experts. Its responsibilities will include regular inspections of hostel kitchens and messes, monitoring cleanliness standards, reviewing contractors’ practices, and enforcing penalties where food or hygiene standards are violated. Students emphasized that the measure is long overdue, given recurrent reports of unhygienic food and deteriorating infrastructure in cooking and service areas.
Hospitality contractors supplying meals to hostel messes have been under criticism for neglecting food safety norms. Students say that despite lodging multiple complaints, there has been little visible action. The committee’s formation signals a shift toward formal and sustained oversight, not just reactive responses to individual complaints. Some of the planned reforms under consideration include stricter hygiene audits, mandatory pest control measures, safer food storage systems, and improved staff training.
University leadership has acknowledged the seriousness of the situation and pledged support for the committee. Initial steps include surveys of all hostel messes to map out problem-areas, unannounced inspections, and creation of a feedback mechanism that allows students to report issues directly. There is also discussion of re-contracting mess operators based on hygiene performance rather than simply lowest bid.
Students’ union representatives view this development as a milestone, but warn that the effectiveness of the committee will depend on transparency and enforcement. They insist that regular public disclosures of inspection findings, corrective actions, and contractor accountability are essential to rebuild trust.
Meanwhile, university health services are ensuring that those who reported illness or food-related symptoms receive medical attention. Efforts are being made to coordinate with food safety authorities so that contractors are held to legal hygiene standards.
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