Vegetarian and non-vegetarian food disputes among various political parties are common incidents. But one such row has now reached Lokmanya Tilak Sion Hospital. Despite having approved of a balanced diet including chicken and mutton along with eggs, the company responsible to provide meals to inpatients at Sion Hospital has refused to serve non-vegetarian food.
Sion Hospital had hired the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) institute on a contract a year ago to provide food to the patients at the hospital. Back then, the institute agreed for ₹110 per meal; however, now it has hiked the price to ₹118. The menu includes four chapatis, two bowls of lentil soup, a bowl of vegetable curry, a bowl of rice and a bowl of curd with a lemon slice.
The company has only mentioned vegetarian food in its menu and excluded non-vegetarian items, as promised at the time of signing the contract that has been a matter of controversy. The immediate reason for this being implied is ISKCON being a religious institution.
Meanwhile, ISKCON has sent a proposal for hiking the food charge to ₹118 to the BMC Standing Committee. It is now upon the Mumbai civic body to approve or reject the proposal.