The canteen near the examination centre was shut last week

Around 300 female students in three hostels, one functional mess. That’s the state of affairs at University of Mumbai’s Kalina campus.

The campus has three hostels — Savitribai Phule, Pandita Ramabai and Dhondu Keshav Karve — but the canteens of the latter two were shut around two months ago after the university failed to renew the food vendors’ contracts. Hostellers of Pandita Ramabai and Dhondu Keshav Karve are forced to undertake at least a 5-minute walk to have their meals. "The university should have renewed the contracts before they lapsed. What’s the point of paying the mess fees if I have to look for other options or walk to another hostel’s canteen?" complains a Pandita Ramabai hosteller and MA psychology student.

An MSc student from the hostel points out that the Savitribai Phule hostel houses around 100 girls and its canteen is equipped to handle only that strength. "Additional students — over 100 residents of Maharshi Karve hostel and around 50 from Pandita Ramabai — are a burden on the mess. This not only delays service to students but also causes problems like shortage of plates, tables, chairs and manpower to serve the crowd. Every day, an argument or two breaks out amongst students." Students have written to the university administration, demanding a quick resolution.

Sanjay Wairal, former senate member of the university, said, "This situation has persisted for over two months. Initially, most of the students were willing to adjust, but how long can they bear the brunt of the administration’s inefficiency?" A senior administration official said, "The renewal of contracts has been delayed. Contracts are never renewed before they lapse. But the process of renewal has never been delayed so much before this year."

Dr MA Khan, registrar of the university, was not available for comments despite several attempts.