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Furious employees at the IT giant’s office on Outer Ring Road demand company authorities to sack the caterer and change the menu

An Oracle employee, tucking into lunch at the office canteen on Monday, got the shock of his life when he found a dead lizard floating in the sambar.
 

Unlike MNC canteens — Infosys’s multi-cuisine food court is as famous as its Employee Stock Options — the Oracle kitchen is an aberration.

Employees have frequently complained about the food to Oracle Real Estate and Facilities vice-president Jayaraman Ramamoorthy. But even they were gobsmacked by the floating reptile on Monday.

The incident triggered panic at Oracle’s Global Financial Information Center (GFIC) office in Prestige Tech Park on Outer Ring Road, where 300 employees work.

Since then, a mail with the subject line, ‘Lizard in canteen meal today,’ has been doing the rounds in the office, some of them directed to the head of facilities. The mail written by an employee to his senior says: “This is to bring to your notice that there was a lizard found in the food provided by the canteen. Though I was not a live witness to it, these images are doing the rounds at GFIC. Please investigate into the issue and replace the vendor.”
 

The pits
The general mood among employees has been that of shock and disgust. “In fact, the IT industry is known for its good canteens.

But in Oracle, we have been enduring bad food for long. We have often written to our head of facilities about changing the vendor. There has been no response and the quality of food has deteriorated. So much so that there was a dead lizard in the sambar. This is the pits,” a senior employee of GFIC told Bangalore Mirror.
 
The Oracle canteen serves a North and South Indian thali for Rs 42. Now, employees not only want the caterer changed, but have also asked bosses for a change in the menu. “It’s a shame that a lizard was found in the food. This is the kind of catering service we have in the global tech giant’s office. And it’s not that the food is subsidised here. When we pay the normal hotel price, why shouldn’t we get quality food,” asked another employee.
 
In an email to Bangalore Mirror Ramamoorthy said, “We are very concerned and will do our very best to ensure hygiene and employee safety.”