Presidency to invite e-tenders for iconic Pramod da’s canteen

KOLKATA: Presidency University has decided to invite bids for the

oldest surviving canteen

on its campus, popular among students as

Pramod da’s canteen

— the name derived from Pramod Swain who has been running it for the past 42 years.

University officials said the e-tender would be invited shortly after the university opened on July 4 following the summer vacation. “We have decided to call for e-tendering for all the canteens, including the one run by Swain,” said university registrar Debojyoti Konar.

The registrar added that the canteen could function as usual after the university opened till the bidding process was started and the lowest bidder was allowed to run the canteen. He said even Swain could contest in the tendering process.

“We cannot ignore basic rules that have to be followed while running a government institution,” university vice-chancellor Anuradha Lohia said. “There are three canteens on the campus and we invite bids for the other two. How can we not do it for this canteen?”

Lohia, herself a Presidency alumna, said she, too, was “not feeling very happy”. “I have a sentimental attachment to this canteen. I, too, have been a student here. But the tendering process we follow is absolutely transparent. I will be happy if he comes through a fair tendering process,” she said.

Swain, who has been running the canteen since 1976, when he was 13, and since then, has graduated to being called Pramod da, said he was pained at the way “it was being done”. “I returned to the city on Saturday and found the canteen locked. I felt humiliated,” he said.

University officials, however, said the two sides had been locked in a stand-off for some time because of Swain’s “refusal to go by rules”. “No one else stays on the campus at night. We have asked him several times to leave at night and follow the basic rules, but to no avail,” a university official said.

The university has three canteens, as well as a mobile canteen run by a student. Swain’s canteen has survived the onslaught of Barista and other eateries to stay in business.

The university decision has generated mixed response from the students.

“Pramod da’s canteen has hosted legendary and famous alumni from across the country. If this canteen is taken over by someone else, a part of the campus history will be wiped out,” said Avishikta Sarkar, a third-year student of English.

But there are those, like second-year English student Sambuddha Mukherjee, who finds the university is following the right path by allowing everyone to have equal opportunity. “It’s a good move. Healthy competition can even better the quality of the canteen,” he said.