College hostels have begun trimming their menus and exploring alternative cooking arrangements to cope with the LPG curbs.
At IIT Kharagpur, the menu has been drastically cut to “basic food items”. At the Indian Statistical Institute, Calcutta, the authorities have advised a switch to cooking with firewood in an open space on the campus.
Metro took a peek into college kitchens.
IIT Kharagpur
At IIT Kharagpur, a campus with around 16,000 residents, the general secretary of a hostel mess wrote to fellow residents: “You might have some information about the ongoing energy crisis. The supply of gas cylinders in the mess in our Hall and other Halls of Residence has been extremely limited, and extreme measures have been recommended by the HMC (Hall Management Centre) regarding this.”
The email said a “simplified menu” would be shared. “It will contain basic food items like rice, dal, curries, dahi... Though daily variations in curries might be considered, the lunch and dinner menu will only have rice and dal.”
There will be no “deep-fried items”.
“Only snacks procured from outside (papdi chaat, chips etc) will be available...,” the email said.
“Cooking will be done mainly using firewood, and it will take some time before things are streamlined again,” it added.
The email requested “all to understand the gravity of the situation and abide by decorum in the mess”.
One of the students who received the mail said they had been advised not to create panic.
“The energy crisis is at a global level, and the repercussions are being felt now. Boarders are requested to abide by these changes, and please continue all communications with the mess staff in a respectful manner,” the email said.
An IIT official said the message had been shared with residents of all 13 halls of residence.
Mess managers were requested to ensure “judicious” use of LPG, avoid wastage and monitor consumption.
ISI, Calcutta
Authorities at ISI have allowed cooking with firewood in an open space after the mess operator apprised them of the crisis.
“We have earmarked an open space for cooking with firewood. Students of the boys’ hostel would have suffered if alternative arrangements were not made,” said an ISI official.
ISI is also a residential campus.
There was no impact on the research scholars’ hostel as it has a contract with the LPG service provider. A minimum of 20 cylinders is provided each month, an official said.
“But we never know what is going to be the situation in days to come. Another canteen on the campus has also reported that its stock of cylinders was thin and has sought permission for open-air cooking with firewood,” the ISI official said.
Presidency University
The Eden Hindu Hostel, which accommodates over a hundred students, closed its mess service on March 10.
“The mess operator said the canteens cannot be run as the stock of cylinders was exhausted. We are buying food from outside,” said Oishnic Dutta, a hostel resident.
The two canteens on the Presidency University campus have also suspended their operations. “We are taking all measures to mitigate the current situation,” dean of students Arun Kumar Maity said in a text message.
IIM Calcutta
The B-school in Joka has yet to feel the pinch as most of its students pursuing the flagship two-year MBA programme have returned home for a recess. The hostel kitchens will remain closed till early May, when students will return.
Only PhD students are on campus now, and there is a lone canteen for them. “The canteen is still serving us food. We don’t know what will happen if the crisis lingers,” a research scholar said on Thursday.