Unhygienic food being served at RU halls

Residential halls of Rajshahi University have been serving “unhygienic and substandard” food for years as an outcome of irregularities on the part of the university authorities and lack of supervision. Many students allege the halls serve stale food and dust and insects are often found in the preparations. They also allege that the authorities have not addressed the problem despite repeated complaints.
Residential students hold the attendants and managers responsible for the bad food quality. They claim that their house tutors do not take the issue seriously.  The students say that they have informed the matter to the hall provost several times, but no action has so far been taken in this regard. Earlier, students of Bangabondhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Hall, Motihar Hall, Begum Rokiya Hall, Nawab Abdul Latif Hall and Rahmatunnesa Hall formed a human chain and held demonstrations for better-quality food. However, the university authorities did not pay any heed to their demand.
Refuting the allegations, Kabir Ahmed, dining room manager of Shah Mukhdom Hall, claimed that they  are very fastidious about maintaining hygienic standards while serving food to the students.
Currently, there are about 33,874 students enrolled in the university. Of them, 22,290 are male and 11,584 female students, according to the university’s annual report of 2016–17.
As many as 8,130 students—5,061 males and 3,069 females—reside in 18 different student dormitories, along with Meer Abdul Kaiyum International Dormitory, the report says.
Sources said the costs of lunch and dinner at the dining halls of all the dormitories are now Tk. 20 and Tk. 16 respectively. Abdul Haque, president of the Dining Hall Workers’ Association, said: “We’ve planned a demonstration to demand a salary hike. The authorities pay us only Tk. 3,000 per month. We can hardly feed our families let alone pay for our children’s education.”
“We can’t always serve quality food, as the meal charges are too low for that,” he added. Sharif Ahmed, a worker at the Shaheed Habibir Rahman Dining Hall, echoed Haque’s words.“Owing to rising prices of essentials, we’re unable to offer a balanced diet. But we try our best,” he added.
Dr M Wadud, deputy director of the university’s medical centre, said: “A good number of students suffer from malnutrition and stomach ailments like diarrhoea and dysentery. They also get hepatitis because of insufficient vitamins in their food.” To verify the students’ complaints, this correspondent went round the hall kitchens and found the conditions to be unhygienic. Rotten potatoes, beans, radishes and other vegetables were seen in the kitchen stores of the residential halls.
Masud Rana, a master’s student, said they have no option but to eat the poor-quality food in the absence of any affordable canteen or restaurant near the dormitories. Those that exist are extremely costly.

Unhygienic food being served at RU halls

Residential halls of Rajshahi University have been serving unhygienic and substandard food for years as an outcome of irregularities on the part of the university authorities and lack of supervision. Many students allege the halls serve stale food and dust and insects are often found in the preparations. They also allege that the authorities have not addressed the problem despite repeated complaints. Residential students hold the attendants and managers responsible for the bad food quality. They claim that their house tutors do not take the issue seriously. The students say that they have informed the matter to the hall provost several times, but no action has so far been taken in this regard. Earlier, students of Bangabondhu Sheikh Mujibur Rahman Hall, Motihar Hall, Begum Rokiya Hall, Nawab Abdul Latif Hall and Rahmatunnesa Hall formed a human chain and held demonstrations for better-quality food. However, the university authorities did not pay any heed to their demand. Refuting the allegations, Kabir Ahmed, dining room manager of Shah Mukhdom Hall, claimed that they are very fastidious about maintaining hygienic standards while serving food to the students. Currently, there are about 33,874 students enrolled in the university. Of them, 22,290 are male and 11,584 female students, according to the universitys annual report of 201617. As many as 8,130 students5,061 males and 3,069 femalesreside in 18 different student dormitories, along with Meer Abdul Kaiyum International Dormitory, the report says. Sources said the costs of lunch and dinner at the dining halls of all the dormitories are now Tk. 20 and Tk. 16 respectively. Abdul Haque, president of the Dining Hall Workers Association, said: Weve planned a demonstration to demand a salary hike. The authorities pay us only Tk. 3,000 per month. We can hardly feed our families let alone pay for our childrens education. We cant always serve quality food, as the meal charges are too low for that, he added. Sharif Ahmed, a worker at the Shaheed Habibir Rahman Dining Hall, echoed Haques words.Owing to rising prices of essentials, were unable to offer a balanced diet. But we try our best, he added. Dr M Wadud, deputy director of the universitys medical centre, said: A good number of students suffer from malnutrition and stomach ailments like diarrhoea and dysentery. They also get hepatitis because of insufficient vitamins in their food. To verify the students complaints, this correspondent went round the hall kitchens and found the conditions to be unhygienic. Rotten potatoes, beans, radishes and other vegetables were seen in the kitchen stores of the residential halls. Masud Rana, a masters student, said they have no option but to eat the poor-quality food in the absence of any affordable canteen or restaurant near the dormitories. Those that exist are extremely costly.