CHENNAI: Social Justice Minister Vanni Arasu said chicken biryani will be introduced in social justice department hostels on Mondays, along with daily morning tea. He added that the government would consider students’ requests to include beef in the hostel menu. The statement on beef has drawn opposition from a few quarters.
Vanni Arasu, speaking to reporters after inspecting a social justice department hostel in Chennai on Monday night, said some students had requested beef as they are used to consuming it in their homes, due to the high cost of mutton. “Some students want it, while some do not. We will discuss the matter with officials and students, and decide how to meet their requirements. I cannot decide on this by myself,” he said.
Social justice department officials said the decision to include chicken biryani was taken after the minister announced in the recent budget that the food allowance for college hostels would be increased by Rs 500 per student and school hostels by `400. We are already providing mutton and chicken gravy alternatively with rice on Wednesdays. Biryani will be provided regularly on Mondays in around 1,400 social justice hostels across the state after a G.O. is issued within two weeks, they added.
The minister added the government had been changing hostel menus based on students’ feedback. Items such as kichadi, upma and semiya had been replaced with idli, dosa and other food items preferred by students.The remarks on beef drew criticism from Puthiya Tamilagam founder K Krishnasamy, who urged the minister to withdraw the statement. He said hostel food should cater to students from diverse backgrounds and opposed the proposal to consider beef in the menu.
The South Indian Forward Bloc condemned the remarks, citing cultural and religious sentiments. ABVP North TN secretary Panneer Selvam questioned whether the government would similarly consider requests for other foods, including pork, and urged it to adopt a food policy taking into account the preferences of all students.