Deccan Spice, a well-known Indian restaurant and catering service provider, was contracted to serve at the TANA event, as previously reported.
Followed by the food crisis news at TANA on the 2nd day, the restaurant owners have provided an explanation stating that they initially received an order to cater for 5000 people for both lunch and dinner. However, just before the event, on the night prior, the organizers suddenly increased the demand to serve 7000 people for lunch and 7000 people for dinner on the second and third day.
Despite the increased demand was met by the caterers, the organizers failed to control the crowd, and even the security personnel allowed people without lunch tags to enter.
There were registration tags which allow the people for lunch and dinner zones. However, due to a lack of communication from the organizers, the security personnel allowed even the people without tags. Consequently, there was a massive rush at the food counters, and the totally arranged 14000 plates were depleted within a few minutes.
When asked why 14000 plates were provided when the order was for 7000, it was explained that it is customary to place more than one plate per person, as individuals do not eat from the same plate in a session.
The owners further elaborated that approximately 3000 people were left without food, as there were no local restaurants nearby for them to grab a quick bite. Therefore, everyone was reliant on the venue for their meals.
The mismanagement of the TANA organizers, rather than the competence and abilities of the caterers, is the main cause of the significant chaos that unfolded. According to the owners of Deccan Spice, this mismanagement and lack of communication and cooredination with the security personnel resulted in a major disturbance at the event.