Odisha directs college hostels, canteens to avoid high-oil food items like puris, vadas and bondas

Bhubaneswar: The Odisha government has asked principals of all government-run and -aided colleges to avoid high-oil menu items such as 'puris', 'vadas' and 'bondas' for breakfast at their canteens. Higher Education Department Deputy secretary Ramesh Chandra Behera wrote to principals of the colleges in this regard on Friday.

In the letter, Behera said the world had been facing repeated supply chain disruptions and crises since the COVID-19 pandemic . The recent conflicts in Ukraine and Iran had also resulted in supply-side issues concerning food, fertiliser and fuel, he said. "No country in the world is immune to the economic impact of the crisis," he wrote.

Odisha colleges asked to cut cooking oil use

Informing that several countries had taken measures to reduce fuel demand, Behera said India was also facing the "negative consequences" of the long-standing crisis. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had made a public appeal to citizens to contribute in small ways towards addressing the situation facing the country, the deputy secretary said.

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The department asked principals to issue necessary instructions to hostels and canteens in their institutions to reduce the use of cooking oil while preparing food for students. "Avoid high-oil menu items like puris, vadas and bondas in breakfast, reduce deep-fried food without compromising nutrition and promote use of traditional ghee, mustard oil and groundnut oil over imported palm/sunflower/soyabean oil," the department told the principals.

The National Service Scheme (NSS) and Youth Red Cross (YRC) volunteers have also been asked to organise awareness programmes in the community to encourage reduction in the use of oil in day-to-day household cooking.