In a shocking incident, a piece of rubber was allegedly found in a student’s meal at the Route 93 Chinese restaurant located in the food court of Savitribai Phule Pune University (SPPU), raising serious concerns about hygiene and food safety on campus.
Shiva Barole, president of the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad (ABVP) Pune University unit and a member of SPPU’s Cafeteria Quality Control Committee, brought the issue to light on Thursday. According to Barole, the rubber was discovered in food purchased by a student from the Hindi Department on Wednesday evening.
“Students from the Hindi department had ordered fried rice and noodles at the Route 93 Chinese outlet. Fortunately, a major health disaster was averted,” Barole said. He also alleged that this is not the first such incident involving the same food vendor, adding that complaints have been ignored in the past.
Barole criticised the university administration and members of the cafeteria committee for their inaction. “Repeated incidents like these are a result of the continued lack of hygiene in the cafeteria. Despite being aware of such issues, the university administration and faculty committee members have failed to take a stand,” he added.
Not isolated case
He stressed that this was not just an isolated case, but a disturbing indicator of systemic negligence. “Finding rubber in food at a prestigious educational institution like SPPU is more than a food safety issue — it reflects serious administrative apathy. Students deserve nutritious and safe meals along with quality education,” Barole said.
He urged the university administration to take immediate corrective action and implement strict quality checks to ensure such incidents do not recur.
So far, no official response has been issued by the university authorities.
