Over 200 students of Mangalore University hostel on Thursday, May 2, staged a protest within the campus, gathering in front of the vice-chancellor's residence to express their dissatisfaction with the quality of food served, stated a report by PTI.

They placed utensils containing stale rice as a symbolic gesture of their grievances.

The students voiced concerns over the consistently poor quality of meals provided at the hostel and cited a lack of responsiveness from kitchen staff regarding their complaints.

Despite Vice-Chancellor PL Dharma being unavailable on campus due to a visit to Bengaluru, he engaged with the protesting students over the phone, promising swift action against those responsible for the substandard food.

However, the students demanded the vice-chancellor's visit to the protest site.

The university registrar attempted to mediate by engaging in discussions with the students late into the night, but the protest continued.

Later, the university officials clarified that a special panel of stakeholders including students, student leaders, hostel mates, university officials and hostel wardens would visit the hostels and take stock of the issue first-hand.

Local authorities, including the Konaje police, intervened to maintain law and order during the demonstration.

Despite ongoing dialogue between students and university officials, tensions remained high as the students sought a resolution to their concerns.