Protest outside Hansraj College on Friday.
| Photo Credit: Special Arrangement
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Around 40 students staged a demonstration outside Hansraj College on Friday demanding that the administration revoke its decision to discontinue serving non-vegetarian food on the campus.
The police detained 15 students after they refused to disperse from the spot, said a senior police officer. The students were later released.
Over the past few days, students’ groups have been voicing their disagreement with the college’s decision to discontinue serving non-vegetarian food after it reopened, following the pandemic, in February last year.
The college’s decision has forced many Indian and foreign students to move from hostels to PGs, said Jatin Mathur, a third-year Anthropology student of the college.
“The discontinuation of non-vegetarian diet has affected many migrant students, who come from different backgrounds and can’t afford to buy their meals from expensive restaurants,” said Punya Balakrishnan, a second-year Zoology student of the college.
Students said that they used to pay ₹37,125 for vegetarian food and ₹38,625 for non-vegetarian food as their annual mess fee till last year.
Since 2022, the students said, they are being charged ₹55,010 for the vegetarian fare.
Samaa, SFI’s Hansraj unit chief, said, “The college stopped serving non-vegetarian food without any prior notice. Students had no idea that the administration would go to the extent of frisking them and confiscating non-vegetarian food.” When contacted, Rama Sharma, Hansraj College principal, refused to comment.
