Bhubaneswar: The Odisha Higher Education Department has directed all government and non-government aided colleges to cut down on cooking oil consumption in hostels and canteens in the wake of the Prime Minister’s appeal to citizens.
In a letter to principals, the department stated that the world has been facing repeated supply chain disruptions since the Covid pandemic, with the conflict in Ukraine causing supply side issues of food, fertilizer and fuel and the recent conflict in Iran further exacerbating the crisis.
Stating that no country is immune to its economic impact and that India is also facing negative consequences of this long-standing crisis, the letter said the Prime Minister has appealed to citizens to contribute in small ways.
Accordingly, colleges have been asked to instruct hostels and canteens to reduce cooking oil use, avoid high-oil breakfast items like ‘Puree, Bara and Aloo Chop, cut down on deep-fried food without compromising nutrition, and promote traditional ghee, mustard oil and groundnut oil over imported palm, sunflower and soyabean oil.
The department has also asked NSS and Youth Red Cross volunteers to organise awareness programmes in the community to reduce oil in daily household cooking.
