Students at the Samras Girls’ Hostel near Gujarat University in Ahmedabad staged a protest after allegedly finding a worm and earwigs in the food served to them. The students claimed that they had repeatedly complained about poor food quality, but said that the situation had not improved. They demanded that the catering contractor be replaced and blacklisted, along with action against officials responsible for monitoring food quality.
Following the complaints, an Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation (AMC) team inspected the hostel, collected three surveillance food samples and imposed a ₹25,000 penalty. Students also alleged that their earlier complaints to the warden, Social Welfare Department and other authorities had not resulted in adequate action.
The hostel houses students from different districts, talukas and cities who come to Ahmedabad for higher education. Students also raised concerns about dining conditions during heavy rain, claiming that they had previously been forced to stand in accumulated rainwater while eating. Members of ABVP joined the protest, while students warned of further agitation if their demands were not addressed.
The incident comes amid a wider food-safety drive across Gujarat’s educational institutions. Earlier this month, the state launched inspections of hostels and canteens after a suspected food-poisoning incident at a school hostel in Surat. Officials inspected hundreds of institutions, collected food samples and issued improvement notices to establishments where deficiencies were found.
