Dead lizard in food irks IISc students

Two back-to-back incidents at the Indian Institute of Science (IISc) here have become an inflection point in the students' struggle for better facilities at the premier centre of learning.

On April 8, a student dining at Nesara, one of the restaurants on campus, found a lizard in the dal that he had ordered. He brought the matter to the notice of the authorities. The restaurant was shut for 10 days, beginning April 10.

In a curious turn of events, somebody spray-painted graffiti on the restaurant's wall: Lizard Lives Matter.

The IISc Students' Council has condemned the graffiti and vowed to punish those responsible for it. It has promised leniency if the culprit confesses in private.

"Whoever did this, please tell the Chairman or General Secretary by tomorrow's evening (6 PM). The name will be kept confidential. Otherwise, if administration finds that person out, very strict action will be taken (even expulsion from institute)," it said in a Facebook post. Students have long complained about the quality of food served at the IISc restaurants. In the Facebook post, the council said the authorities had failed to take action on its earlier report on the poor quality of food.

"The vandalism of the public property was not the right way to show anyone's dissatisfaction with the system. Although we agree that the security is very pathetic in the campus and we are raising our voice continuously about the deployment of more security guards at places including gymkhana area and we have been advocating the visitors' management system on the gates (sic)," the council said in the post.

The council has listed several demands, including price regulation, proper identification for staff and periodic testing of food.

When contacted, an IISc official said they would respond only on Monday. "An incident of spotting a dead lizard in the food served by Nesara was reported by a student. Following this, services of the Nesara have been suspended for 10 days from April 10, 2018, due to unhygienic conditions. Their services will be restored only on getting a certificate of clearance from an appointed committee. Some graffiti has been made on the walls of Nesara. Enquiries are being made into this incident," the IISc said in an e-mail response to DH.