Sardar Vallabhbhai National Institute of Technology - [SVNIT], Surat - Hostel Details

According to my friends at SVNIT, hostel food is extremely monotonous. It is mostly comprised of Gujarati dishes, which are not liked by them. The points below are some of the key highlights of the hostel mess food at SVNIT.

• The messes in SVNIT are operated by different private contractors and so, the quality of food varies with different hostels. 
• The contractors use their tricks as far as possible to make maximum profits, degrading the quality of food.
• There is a very limited choice of meals in SVNIT and students have to eat what is served to them. 
• Being in Gujarat, there are very few non-veg meals.
• Every alternate Sunday is an off day for the hostel mess and students can go to restaurants or eat street food. 
• Outside the campus, there is a lot of variety in food.
• Seniors are the best people to ask for good food destinations.

The quality of mess food in the hostels of SVNIT is quite evident from the above points, which is average in quality and not satisfactory to most students.

The following facilities are available for students at the SVNIT hostels-

• Basic Facilities- Every student is given a bed, a mattress, a bedsheet, a chair, a study table, a cupboard with door lock and a pillow with a cover. 

The hostels have proper WiFi and LAN Connectivity. There are common washrooms with geysers in the hostels. Every hostel room has a fan, a light bulb  and electricity ports. Unfortunately, there is no facility for coolers or air  conditioners. Moreover, the installation of coolers inside hostel rooms is not permitted as well.

• Other Facilities- Other than the hostel mess, there are night canteens. There is a laundry service as well. There is a Volleyball court and a TT room within the boys’ hostel premise. The hostels have a reading room along with a library. 

There is a TV room, and one can easily access newspapers and magazines. The premises have a parking for bicycles and a Computer room (CCF). The entire hostel area is covered with CCTV surveillance. Hair salons are available inside the hostel area. 

These are the facilities available at the SVNIT hostels. Although there aren’t any cooler/ AC facilities, you’ll enjoy your stay at this institution. 

The hostel food at SVNIT, like the one at any other college, can be best described as boring and repetitive.

Each hostel is handled by a different mess contractor, which is why the food quality may vary with the hostel. But one thing is for sure that the private contractors try to extract as much profit as they can. The menu predominantly contains Gujarati dishes, which may not be to the liking of some people. The meals have limited options, and one has no choice but to eat whatever is available. The hostels do not serve non-veg meals, but some hostels serve eggs on a day of the week/ on Sundays.

On a particular day, every alternate week, the mess remains closed for dinner. This is the perfect time to explore some restaurants or street foods outside of the campus. The food in Surat is delicious and has a lot of variety. On weekends, many families gather on the footpaths of the Dumas road along the SVNIT walls. There, one gets food stalls with different kinds of veg and non veg options. These stalls serve very affordable dishes. You can also ask your seniors for their favorite restaurants in the city.

The hostel food of SVNIT is manageable, but a bit boring. 

SVNIT has a good hostel facility.

1. The hostels have all the basic facilities ranging from bedding to laundry.
2. Boys are allowed to stay outside hostel premises till 11 pm, but freshers have to wait for around 3 months to acquire such freedom.
3. Hostel rooms have a good LAN connection and Wi-Fi facility. 
4. Most of the hostel buildings are newly constructed.
5. Some hostels have CCF (computer lab) facility. But it does not work properly all the time.
6. The campus is located beside a beautiful lake, and birds like peacocks and parrots are a common sight within the college premises.
7. The hostels have decent sports facilities, and besides, the college has a Student Activity Center where there are facilities for various sports like basketball, tennis, badminton, chess, etc.
8. The SAC has a good gym, and some of the hostels have their own gyms as well.
9. The entire campus, including the hostels have a zero ragging policy.

Thus, SVNIT hostels are good. You can consider this institution for your engineering studies. 

SVNIT has one of the best hostels, and I personally liked each one that I stayed in. Boys can opt for a single room from second year onwards.

Fresher boys are allotted Gajjar Bhawan, and it is the best hostel for boys, at SVNIT. 2nd year boys are allotted Tagore Bhawan and Nehru Bhawan. Tagore Bhawan has small and cozy rooms, but the small bathrooms are a drawback. 3rd and final year boys get SV Bhawan which has well ventilated single rooms with an attached balcony. Bhabha is another option for 3rd year boys. The good thing about Bhabha is that you can play endless cricket with friends over there. 

The hostel messes are decent. Aamras, ice cream, egg curry, chaas and french fries are some of the good options served in the messes. There is no system of self service, rather the food is given on your plate by the mess staff. Hostel day is the time to eat as much as you want, and dance to your heart’s content. Each hostel has its own mess.

The campus is filled with crows, pigeons and peacocks. The hostels have TT rooms, and hostel sports events are also organized regularly.

The SVNIT hostels have good and safe living conditions. You will enjoy your stay at the institution. 

As a senior I would advise you to never compare your hostel with your home. Hostel life is a unique experience, and you’ll meet people from various backgrounds and cultures. Hostel life will have something in store for you, irrespective of who you are and where you are from. 

Fresher boys are allotted Gajjar Bhawan at SVNIT. It is a four storey building, located at the end corner of the campus. The building is in a good condition with proper air circulation. It is furnished and painted. It is huge enough to also house M.Tech 2nd years and hostel workers. The fresher rooms are spacious and double seater. You’ll get a single room from second year onwards. The rooms are allotted randomly at the time of hostel admission. 

Each room contains two beds, two mattresses and mattress covers, two pillows and pillow covers ( depends upon availability), two chairs, two study tables, one big iron cupboard, one white board, one green board, one LAN connection port and a LAN cable, curtains on the windows, mosquito nets, one fan, three charging slots, one tubelight and one lamp.

The hostel has common washrooms, payable but affordable laundry facility, unlimited Wifi and LAN facility with high speed internet, clean surroundings, the lounge room has English, Hindi and Gujarati daily newspapers, along with some monthly magazines, there is a cycle parking on the ground floor, there are 2-3 table tennis courts, a volleyball ground, a small library, a study room, a TV room, a night canteen and a computer lab with internet facility. 

These are some of the facilities available at the first year hostel. Overall, the hostels at SVNIT are good enough.

Almost all the hostel buildings have been replaced with newer and more modern ones. 

Just like the other hostel rooms, those at SVNIT are provided with Beds, Study Tables, Chairs, Wardrobes, Fans and Internet Connections. The washrooms are common for each lobby/wing. The arrangement is different for married Phd. students. They are provided with a 1HK setup, along with an attached washroom.

This is what the hostel rooms for B.Tech boys look like-

Gajjar Bhawan for freshers

Double seater rooms

Swami Vivekanand Bhawan for third years

Single seater rooms

This is how the hostel rooms at SVNIT typically look like. They are quite decent, and have all the necessary facilities.