Hima Das, other athletes complain about unhygienic food at NIS; SAI sets up 'inspection committee'

After news came out of social distancing protocol breach in Netaji Subhas National Institute of Sports (NS-NIS) in Patiala, India’s premier sports facility is again grabbing the eyeballs for wrong reasons as star sprinter Hima Das and other athletes have complained about poor food quality that was served to them in the mess in mid-August while also protesting about poor hygiene in the kitchen.

As per a report in TOI, Hima Das had complained about ‘human nails’ in her food as the Assamese sprinter took photographs of her meal and shared them to NIS administration. SAI took up the matter and set up a ‘Food Inspection Committee’ to ensure the quality of food remains good.

Hima even took up the matter with sports minister Kiren Rijiju, who acted promptly while instructing the SAI authorities to resolve the issue. There were other complaints from athletes about hair in their meals and kitchen staff sneezing in their hands and not sanitizing them properly.

SAI, in a statement issued to TOI, informed "Some athletes had raised an issue about the quality of food at the mess at NS NIS, Patiala in mid-August. As soon as it was brought to notice, immediate corrective action was taken to ensure that even one-off issues of this nature are not faced by athletes. A review meeting was held with officials, staff and players on the same day and instructions were issued to ensure that the quality of food is as per the requirement of the athletes. Feedback from athletes confirm that the quality of food is as per their liking and requirement," the SAI statement read.

"As per policy, SAI has set up a Food Inspection Committee and is also strengthening the kitchen staff at NIS. A food helpline number has also been set up to order food items of athletes' choice," it added. The statement quoted Hima as saying, "Our concern was addressed immediately. We had said that we were not happy with the quality of cooking. And ever since we raised the concern, the quality of cooking has really improved."