Food hygiene concerns at Jawaharlal Nehru Technological University-Hyderabad have intensified after a student reportedly found a snail in sambar served for dinner at Manjeera Hostel on Monday, days after students discovered a lizard in chole curry at the same university.
According to a report by Telangana Today, the student had taken rice and sambar and eaten a few mouthfuls before noticing the snail on his plate. Hostel inmates said the serving staff initially tried to downplay the incident by stating that the object was not a snail. The sambar was discarded from the serving bucket only after the student raised the issue, the report said.
A student quoted anonymously by Telangana Today said the affected student, who is from North India, became upset and left his dinner midway. The student also claimed that a similar incident had happened earlier and that complaints about unhygienic food had repeatedly been raised without stopping the problem.
The latest incident follows the discovery of a lizard moving in chole curry served for dinner at the hostel nearly 10 days earlier. Several students had reportedly already eaten before the lizard was noticed in the vessel. The incident led a large number of students to stage a protest at the hostel.
The protesters accused the university administration and mess staff of negligence over food quality and hygiene in the hostels. The report did not include a statement from the university administration or details of any inspection, disciplinary action, food-safety assessment or change in the mess-service arrangements.
The incidents place the focus on the administration of institutional kitchens, where food is prepared and served to large residential student populations. In a hostel setting, students depend on the mess for daily meals, making food storage, preparation, inspection and serving practices central to campus welfare. The latest report also indicates that students are seeking a response to what they describe as a recurring problem rather than an isolated complaint.
No official findings on the cause of the reported contamination, the condition of the kitchen or the accountability of the mess operator were available in the supplied report. The immediate institutional response, including whether the university will investigate the complaints and announce corrective measures, remains the next significant development.
