File photo of All India Institute of Medical Science (AIIMS).The AIIMS administration Monday ordered two hostel messes to shut down after taking cognisance of observations made during a surprise inspection by the Resident Doctors Association (RDA) and other student bodies.
A letter written by the store officer (hostel) to the mess vendor Laxmi Chand and Sons (LCS) said that the messes will be shut from August 30.
“In view of the observations during the surprise inspection of the various messes by members of the food safety and hygiene committee, the executive members of the user organisations, and food safety inspectors it has been decided to shut down the messes in Hostel 7 and the cafe in hostel 5 with effect from the morning of Tuesday 30th August, 2022. The decision is through Competent Authority (Shops and establishment committee),” said the letter.
The AIIMS Resident Doctors Association (RDA) also issued a statement saying that in order to make immediate arrangements for the interim period, messes of hostels 9, 5, 7 and 8 will be allotted on the nomination basis within 2-3 days.
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“In view of the observations during the surprise inspection of the various messes by RDA with other student bodies and the food safety and hygiene committee, it has been decided to shut down the messes in Hostel 7 and Hostel 5 with effect from tomorrow morning i.e. 30th August, 2022. In order to make immediate arrangements for the interim period, messes of hostels 9, 5, 7 and 8 (First floor) will be allotted on the nomination basis within 2-3 days,” said the RDA statement.
Last Thursday, officials of the Delhi government’s food and safety department had also visited the All India Institute of Medical Science hostel campus and issued a show cause notice to five messes.
A team of the designated officer, Ranjit Singh, along with 6 food safety officers went to the campus and collected samples and sent them for inspection. “During the inspection, it was found that the mess facility at many of the hostels did not have a licence, and hostel mess no. 7 showed the licence of hostel mess no. 12,” said Ranjit Singh.
Singh said it was also found during the inspection that in most of the kitchens, the food was kept in containers without lids, there were uncovered garbage bins, and the raw material was not stored properly. Some of the kitchens did not have separate areas for vegetarian and non-vegetarian food, he added.