Food quality at DU canteens deteriorating
Saturday, 12 July 2008
Students of Dhaka University (DU) are taking their meals on higher payment in view of the current soaring prices of essentials, but eating low quality food under some sorts of compulsion, reports BSS.
Residential students often allege that they are in fact buying diseases as well as various other health problems by eating such low-grade food in the DU canteens at the cost of their parent's hard-earned money.
According to the hall officials, more than 60 per cent of the DU residential and non-residential students take their food at the dormitories' canteens while the rest of them eat at hall messes or elsewhere on the campus.
Manager of the Sergeant Zahurul Haque Hall canteen Mohammad Jahangir told BSS that some 550-600 students out of the total 1,100 inmates of its dormitory usually take their meals at the canteen.
"At present, the number of students having their meals at the canteen are reducing day by day," he added.
The DU authorities have recently raised the per meal price from Taka 12 to Taka 22 assuring the students that they will be served with quality food. "But we are compelled to eat such foods, which are not eatable", said Mansur Alam, a resident student of Zahurul Haque Hall.
He also alleged that the authorities have been serving low quality foods, lacking minimum nutritional standard.
Kamal Ahmed, a resident student of Salimullah Muslim Hall, said the present per meal price at the hall canteens is somewhat justified because of the spiraling prices of essentials in markets but the most regrettable matter is that the foods are not at all up to the satisfactory level.
Jamaluddin Jami of Kabi Jasimuddin Hall expressed a little more painful experience of himself as a student of the country's largest seat of learning saying, "Since the day I started taking meals at my hall canteen, I could not get the opportunity of having the taste of meat."
"Coarse rice, a very little amount of half-soaked vegetable curry with a tiny piece of 'pangas' fish, and highly diluted dal are being served at our hall canteen," he said in a pale look.
As cooking is their universal passion, most of the female residential students prepare their own meals in rooms using electric heaters. Unfortunately, they also face problems during cooking time because of load shedding leaving a sizeable number of them unfed at night.
Shabnam Mushtari of Rokeya Hall said, "As the quality of food at the canteens is not good enough for eating, I have to take the trouble of cooking my own food by saving time from my study hours."
Provost of Zahurul Haque Hall Professor Zahedul Islam got a good reason for low-quality food in the DU canteens when he told BSS that the price of essentials has gone up making it difficult to serve quality meals.
Nizamul Haq Bhuiyan, Assistant Professor of the Institute of Food and Nutrition, said the university authorities should provide subsidy for meals at the DU canteens at least to allow the students to eat quality food.
"The university authorities can ensure quality food for the residential students by not raising the current meal charges," he said.
Many residential students strongly feel that the canteen managers should be more sincere and careful in preparing meals and buying essentials from markets, taking into their conscientious consideration that Dhaka University is producing the leaders of tomorrow.
Residential students often allege that they are in fact buying diseases as well as various other health problems by eating such low-grade food in the DU canteens at the cost of their parent's hard-earned money.
According to the hall officials, more than 60 per cent of the DU residential and non-residential students take their food at the dormitories' canteens while the rest of them eat at hall messes or elsewhere on the campus.
Manager of the Sergeant Zahurul Haque Hall canteen Mohammad Jahangir told BSS that some 550-600 students out of the total 1,100 inmates of its dormitory usually take their meals at the canteen.
"At present, the number of students having their meals at the canteen are reducing day by day," he added.
The DU authorities have recently raised the per meal price from Taka 12 to Taka 22 assuring the students that they will be served with quality food. "But we are compelled to eat such foods, which are not eatable", said Mansur Alam, a resident student of Zahurul Haque Hall.
He also alleged that the authorities have been serving low quality foods, lacking minimum nutritional standard.
Kamal Ahmed, a resident student of Salimullah Muslim Hall, said the present per meal price at the hall canteens is somewhat justified because of the spiraling prices of essentials in markets but the most regrettable matter is that the foods are not at all up to the satisfactory level.
Jamaluddin Jami of Kabi Jasimuddin Hall expressed a little more painful experience of himself as a student of the country's largest seat of learning saying, "Since the day I started taking meals at my hall canteen, I could not get the opportunity of having the taste of meat."
"Coarse rice, a very little amount of half-soaked vegetable curry with a tiny piece of 'pangas' fish, and highly diluted dal are being served at our hall canteen," he said in a pale look.
As cooking is their universal passion, most of the female residential students prepare their own meals in rooms using electric heaters. Unfortunately, they also face problems during cooking time because of load shedding leaving a sizeable number of them unfed at night.
Shabnam Mushtari of Rokeya Hall said, "As the quality of food at the canteens is not good enough for eating, I have to take the trouble of cooking my own food by saving time from my study hours."
Provost of Zahurul Haque Hall Professor Zahedul Islam got a good reason for low-quality food in the DU canteens when he told BSS that the price of essentials has gone up making it difficult to serve quality meals.
Nizamul Haq Bhuiyan, Assistant Professor of the Institute of Food and Nutrition, said the university authorities should provide subsidy for meals at the DU canteens at least to allow the students to eat quality food.
"The university authorities can ensure quality food for the residential students by not raising the current meal charges," he said.
Many residential students strongly feel that the canteen managers should be more sincere and careful in preparing meals and buying essentials from markets, taking into their conscientious consideration that Dhaka University is producing the leaders of tomorrow.