From parathas to packaged food: Miranda House students protest menu changes

Changes to the hostel menu at Delhi University’s Miranda House, which included replacing parathas, pav bhaji and chole bhature with sandwiches, biscuits and cakes, and limiting rotis to dinner, triggered protests by students on campus this week.

Messages shared by the hostel mess secretary on a WhatsApp group indicate that the menu has been scaled back over the past few days. One message cited “limited supply of gas from GAIL due to the worsening situation in the Gulf,” adding that items requiring higher gas usage, such as aloo fry, kadhi and parathas, would be suspended for now.

Another notice said that evening “teashare” snacks would be cooked in the mess only once a week, with packaged food served on other days. It also stated that meals would be simplified to reduce gas consumption, and that rotis would be available only at dinner until further notice.


Also Read: Delhi University imposes one-month ban on protests, sparks criticism

A separate communication explained that breakfast items like parathas had been replaced with toasted bread and sandwiches. It added that dishes such as chicken biryani, which require extensive frying, and pav-based items that need multiple burners, could not be prepared due to low gas pressure.

However, the college administration denied any arbitrary reduction in food services, saying the changes were made in consultation with students after an advisory from Indraprastha Gas Limited to cut gas usage by 20%.

IGL officials clarified that there has been no disruption in gas supply to institutions such as colleges, hostels and hospitals, and said supply is expected to remain stable. Earlier, in March, IGL had advised commercial and industrial PNG consumers to restrict usage to 80% of their average consumption over the past six months, following a central government directive prioritising domestic and fertiliser sectors.

Principal Bijayalaxmi Nanda said no formal complaints had been received and that the administration had engaged with protesting students. “The mess menu is decided by the students themselves. We ensure they get proper nutritious food. The college is not facing any kind of crisis in gas supply,” she said.

Students, however, said popular evening snacks like aloo tikki, pakoda, kachori, chowmein and macaroni had largely been replaced with packaged items. Some added that meals briefly improved after the protest, with dishes like rajma chawal and roti served at lunch on Thursday.

The hostel houses around 300 students.

Also Read: Delhi University to launch course on navigating modern love, red flags, and heartbreaks for Gen Z

Responding to the concerns, bursar and hostel committee member Nandini Dutta said the menu changes were made after discussions with students and were not imposed. She said packaged food was introduced with student consent and is not served daily, while rationing rotis involved offering students a choice between lunch and dinner to manage gas use.

Dutta added that regular meals, including chicken and paneer, were served on the day of the protest, and suggested that some students were also raising broader concerns about the overall food experience. She said the situation escalated when some students attempted to take the protest outside the hostel, drawing participation from members of Left-affiliated groups and ABVP.

As a temporary measure, the administration has procured four induction units, though officials noted these may not be sufficient for large-scale cooking. A meeting with students has been scheduled for April 4 to address the issue.

(With inputs from TOI)