Shiv Sena

Yuva Sena

Civil Engineering Department

Indian Institute of Technology

non-vegetarian food

writes to IIT-B registrar, threatenswill launch protest if meat ‘ban’ recurs.Following the uproar over the purported ban on non-vegetarian items at the café attached to theat the, Bombay, IIT-B on Monday claimed there was no restriction on the sale of meat-based food items at Civil Café.The institute said the letter was issued in the context of stale food, and cooking being carried out in an academic area, and was pre-emptive action taken in the interest of the health and safety of the customers.“The institute does not favour any one’s preference over another or discriminate on such grounds,” read the statement.Earlier, a circular had stated that non-vegetarian items were “strictly banned and should not be served”, citing objections raised by some people as the reason behind the move.However, an IIT-B spokesperson told Mirror that the choice of words was wrong, and that there was no ban. “If we have to ban then we will ban it in all the hostels and cafeterias; why only this one?” she said.She said the caterer in question was simply told to not cook any food at the cafeteria.“They can serveanywhere in the campus, including Civil Café,” she said.When asked about whether the institute was backtracking on the earlier ‘ban’, she said there was no question of backtracking as there was no ban in the first place. “It was not like non-vegetarian food was not being served before. On the rooftop, we are not allowed to cook for safety reasons. The caterer is not supposed to cook at the café, and not serve any stale food or cooked food there. The circular was misworded and we have made a clarification; that’s why there is no backtracking,” the spokesperson said.But the institute’s official line on the latest ‘ban’ rang hollow, given that on January 12, an email had been sent from the mess team to students of Hostel 11 at IIT-B, asking them to use separate plates for non-vegetarian food. The students were asked not to “use main plates for non-veg dishes”. It said the request had been issued in view of complaints from some students.About the latest controversy, students said there was no cooking being undertaken at the café earlier, and that the reason IIT-B had cited held no water. They also said they were not aware of any about-face by the institute, but were enraged by the circular.The institute said a committee would meet and discuss what can and cannot be allowed. The circular, as of now, stands revoked, and meat items will be served from Tuesday.Sources within the Civil Engineering department said the wording of the circular was not misinterpreted, but insist there was never a ban. They stressed on the objections, which they say were over the staleness of food, as the caterer used to bring the food in the early hours and serve it until evening.Meanwhile, on Monday, the Shiv Sena shot off a letter to the institute’s registrar, stating that the party had taken serious note of the recent spate of incidents concerning the ‘ban’ on nonvegetarian food.It warned that if such incidents recurred, then the Yuva Sena would launch a protest.