Unable to run canteens, hostels & PGs ask students to arrange own food

Bhubaneswar: With severe shortage of commercial LPG cylinders, several hostels and paying guest (PG) accommodations in the city have asked their inmates to arrange for their own food in the next two days, expressing helplessness to run their canteens.

This, in turn, is forcing many youths to returning home to avoid the rising cost of eating outside, even as prices of snacks and cooked food spiked. Parents too, worried about the situation, are advising their children to come back home until the supplies stabilise.




Arabinda Mohanty, who runs five hostels and PGs in the city, said their LPG stock will be over by Sunday. “We need 20-25 commercial LPG cylinders every month. As per our practice, we order LPG every 10 days. Now the shortage of gas has derailed our plan to run the hostel and PG kitchens,” he said.

He added they serve lunch and dinner for at least 100-120 people per day. “At this juncture, we cannot run the canteen till the supply is stabilised. We have informed the hostel inmates and their parents about the problem. They were urged to make their own food arrangements. There is no other alternative but to close the canteen for some time. Some of the hostel boarders went home, expecting uncertainty in the coming days,” said Mohanty.

Pabitra Rout, manager of a big private hostel at Jaydev Vihar, said they will shut down the canteen after the LPG stock is exhausted in the next two days. “Many of our hostel boarders are preparing for different competitive exams. Five of them have already returned to their villages. We feel bad that we cannot provide them food at this time,” he said.

He added the price of an LPG cylinder in the open market doubled due to the gas shortage. “We cannot even run the hostel by purchasing food from outside. Earlier, we were purchasing a roti for Rs 2.5; now it costs Rs 4.5. The same shop which charged Rs 5 per ‘vada’ is asking for Rs 10 for a piece,” he added.

Mitrabhanu Swain, who stays in a hostel at Nayapalli, said his hostel manager asked him to arrange food for himself. “The prices of cooked food and snacks has gone up and I cannot afford it. That’s why I came back to my village in Angul district. I will return to the hostel after the canteen starts operation,” he said.

So far, college and university hostel canteens have not faced the issue as they order the LPG cylinders beforehand. “But we will also face problems if the LPG shortage continues for another 10 days,” said a hostel superintendent of a university.