THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Students of Government Engineering College, Barton Hill, in Thiruvananthapuram, staged a sit-in protest before the principal’s office on Wednesday, alleging that they were served rotten chicken for dinner in the college’s ladies hostel.
The hostel mess, which houses over 300 students, had served chilli chicken for dinner on Tuesday, but students noticed a foul smell in the meat. While the health squad of the food safety department has collected a sample of the food item, college authorities informed that possible actions will be initiated.
“Hostel authorities initially told us that the chicken was purchased on Tuesday, but when the health squad asked, they admitted that the chicken was bought a day before. Before the inspection, the staff had cleaned the mess premises,” said Manjima V, a third-year student. It is suspected that the chicken might have gone rotten due to the repeated power cuts in the last two days.
“Earlier, we had got flies, ticks, stapler pins and plastic from food. The mess was served a notice by the food safety department last year, but nothing appears to have changed,” said Anikha Rajesh, a third-year student.
“We can initiate action on the issue only after getting the test results from the health squad. Steps have been initiated on other issues flagged,” said principal Suresh K.