Sept. 22: The Presidency University authorities have selected a vendor to run the canteen that Pramod Swain has operated for 40 years.
Swain, who didn't participate in the bidding, has been asked to vacate the canteen by tonight. The new vendor will take over on October 9.
Former advocate general Jayanta Mitra, who is the Presidency alumni association president, had requested vice-chancellor Anuradha Lohia in August to let Swain, Pramod-da to students, continue.
Swain has been an integral part of the campus since the Presidency college days, Mitra had said.
The authorities had felicitated Swain during the institute's bicentennial celebrations in January as a campus icon.
Presidency had advertised for the third time in August-end, seeking tenders by September 13 to run the canteen.
Prospective bidders should have a turnover of Rs 6 lakh in running a catering service in the last three fiscals, the authorities had said in the advertisement.
The second advertisement in early August had pegged the turnover at Rs 18 lakh. It was Rs 50 lakh in the first advertisement in July.
Metro had reported on July 18 that Swain's turnover stood at Rs 10,56,000.
Swain said he didn't take part in the bidding for want of various documents - except food and trace licences - specified in the advertisement.
Swain told VC Lohia in a letter on September 12 that he didn't have all the papers since he has run the canteen for 40 years or so as an informal business. "I am willing to pay an annual fee to the university," he said in the letter.
Registrar Debajyoti Konar today said Swain had been asked to vacate the campus. "One has to bid in accordance with government rules to run the canteen. The new vendor fufilled the conditions and was therefore selected."
The move, however, enraged students with many saying they wouldn't let anyone but Pramod-da run the canteen. "We will start an indefinite protest from October 9... we won't let the new vendor run the canteen," Manjima Dasgupta, president of the SFI unit on the campus, said.
"It's unfortunate.... We had expected VC Lohia to pay heed to our request," Bivas Chaudhuri, secretary of the alumni association, said.
