A disturbing video of rats scurrying through the kitchens of one of India’s prestigious institutions, IIT Roorkee, has sent shockwaves through the student community and beyond. Students claim that the rats were discovered in the Radha Krishna Bhawan mess, a central dining facility, on Friday, raising serious concerns about food safety.
The video, which has gone viral on social media, shows rodents in a frying pan and inside a pressure cooker full of water. Students reported finding rats also inside rice sacks, further fueling their anxieties. The startling discovery prompted hundreds of students to gather outside the mess, staging a protest against the alleged unsanitary conditions and demanding accountability from the institute administration.
Following the uproar, IIT-Roorkee issued a statement, claiming the students had entered the mess at night and the rats were found in a closed area where only empty utensils and non-edible items were stored. The administration asserted that no food items were contaminated and the video was a “deliberate attempt to misrepresent the situation.”
However, students remain unconvinced, expressing their fear of potential food contamination and demanding a thorough investigation into the incident. They are calling for immediate action to address the hygiene issues and ensure the safety of the mess.
This isn’t the first time IITs have faced rat-related issues. In 2017, a student at IIT Delhi discovered a dead rat in coconut chutney served for breakfast. The incident sparked widespread concern and highlighted the recurring problem of rodent infestations in IITs across the country.
The current situation at IIT Roorkee has reignited the debate about food safety and hygiene standards in educational institutions, prompting calls for stricter regulations and proactive measures to prevent such incidents in the future. The administration’s response and the outcome of any investigations will be closely watched, as the incident raises critical questions about the responsibility of institutions to safeguard the health and wellbeing of their students.