SANGAREDDY : The chutney prepared for students at Sultanpur JNTU College in Andole constituency on Monday night turned into a nightmare when a rat was discovered in it. Recently, students of JNTU College have protested the unsanitary and unhygienic conditions of the hostel food.
Upon noticing the live rat in the chutney, students recorded a video and shared it on social media, prompting District Health Minister Damodar Rajanarsimha to express his outrage. He warned against jeopardising students’ lives and instructed District Additional Collector Madhuri and Andole RDOs to conduct a thorough investigation and submit a report.
As directed, the officials visited the college on Tuesday. Additional Collector Madhuri met with the principal, staff and students, inspecting the dining room and kitchen. Minister Rajanarsimha instructed authorities to prevent such incidents in all hostels and ordered food safety officials to inspect boarding hostels, canteens, schools and colleges statewide.
Emphasising compliance with food safety norms, the minister mandated immediate cancellation of licences for non-compliant entities and urged constant inspections by Food Safety Officers across the state. Meanwhile, Additional District Collector Madhavi’s inquiry report revealed neglect in utensil cleaning at the college, which she reprimanded the staff for.
The minister directed the authority to keep vigilance on the manufacture of food items.
Madhuri directed the principal to take swift action against those responsible, while JNTU Principal Narasimha acknowledged the incident, stating the rat fell into the chutney after students had finished eating and were cleaning up. Additional Collector Madhuri highlighted poor hostel conditions and pledged to bring these issues to the District Collector’s attention for necessary actions.