Panel to probe into claims of poor food and water at Bhopal’s VIT university
Madhya Pradesh chief minister Mohan Yadav on Thursday ordered the formation of a committee to probe into allegations of “poor quality food and water” at the Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT) campus in Bhopal
Madhya Pradesh chief minister Mohan Yadav on Thursday ordered the formation of a committee to probe into allegations of “poor quality food and water” at the Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT) campus in Bhopal, officials aware of the matter said.
The decision came amid massive protests by students, who have also demanded a probe into the death of a first-year student due to tuberculosis, alleging it could be linked to the quality of food and water on campus.
“The children’s safety is the government’s priority. We are waiting for the reports of food and water samples to take further action,” district in-charge minister Krishna Gaur said. in a meeting with officials of Sehore district and local MLAs.
Students of VIT had been protesting for several days over alleged unhygienic food and contaminated water.
On Tuesday night, the protest turned violent after a warden and guards of the university allegedly thrashed some students during the agitation. In retaliation, students vandalised the campus and also set a car and bus on fire. They have claimed that three students had died of jaundice linked to unsafe water and food at the campus, however, the university registrar KK Nair denied the death claims.
Meanwhile, an email from the father of a student, who died on November 24, was widely circulated on social media. It claimed that first-year student, Neha Sahukar, 19, died of progressive tuberculosis. Addressing the college administration, her father, Sunil Sahukar in the email alleged, “Poor food and negligence is responsible for the death of my daughter. She had been feeling unwell since she moved to the hostel.”
HT couldn’t independently verify the veracity of the email.
Sunil added, “I got a call from the college that Neha’s condition was serious. She was immediately brought to Bilaspur, where tests revealed a severe bowel obstruction, caused by prolonged constipation. However, when doctors performed tests before surgery, they discovered that Neha had progressive tuberculosis.”
“The doctors said that TB developed due to unhygienic conditions. Neha underwent surgery, but soon developed multi-organ failure and died on November 24,” said the father.
A second year student said, “The institute administration hardly pays attention to food quality and clean water availability. Most of the students are facing trouble. We are purchasing water from the market. Despite peaceful requests and protests, the administration didn’t take any concrete steps to improve conditions.”
After the protest two first information reports (FIRs) have been registered by Sehore police. In the first FIR, hostel warden and five others have been booked for thrashing students while in another FIR, unidentified students have been booked for arsoning and rioting.
