VARANASI: Right next to garbage dumped carelessly on the main road and overflowing sewage in Cantonment area, a vendor sells 'purisabji'
to passersby. Other vendors nearby sell cut fruits, fruit juices,
summer drinks, fast food and other edibles which are left open for
hours, providing a feast for flies and microbes. And as if this was not
enough, the edibles are constantly exposed to the deadly fumes emanating
from vehicles plying on the road.
The situation is more or less the same across the city. The dysfunctional solid waste management plant has resulted in the haphazard dumping of garbage along the roadside even in crowded areas. The ongoing digging work for the laying of pipelines has further deteriorated the situation and contaminated water supply in several areas. Recently, the health department declared around 46 localities sensitive for the spread of epidemic. The district health department and government hospitals are continuously issuing warning about the sporadic cases of gastroenteritis, which are increasing in the city. Despite this, thousands of vendors are selling fruit juices, cut fruits, fast food and other edibles in insanitary conditions at Cantonment Railway Station, Roadways bus stand, Kutchehri area, Pandeypur, Chowkaghat, Andhrapul, Godowlia, Lanka, Nariya, Sigra and Vidyapeeth road, among other areas.
Even though the city is already struggling with dust, garbage and sewage overflow and there is an onslaught of diarrhea and stomach infections in the city, there is no way out to check the hygiene maintained in the preparation and marketing of edibles selling in open air.
"There is no facility to check the micro-bacterial elements in the food, which means if the food is stale and contaminated, we cannot identify it as such. The laboratories under the Food Safety and Standard Act are still to be upgraded. Our work is confined to testing of adulteration in the suspected samples which are further sent to Lucknow for testing," informed designated officer, Food and Drug Administration department, Ashok Kumar Sharma. What is even more shocking is that the department also does not have any chemicals or equipment to check the quality of the food on sale.
As per records of the FDA department, there are only around 5,000 registered vendors and license holders who are selling edibles in the city. In reality, there are an estimated 40,000 vendors who are into the business of selling edibles. We have the target of increasing the registration to 10,000 in this financial year," informed an officer of FDA department.
On other hand, Varanasi Municipal Corporation (VMC) apparently has no responsibility to probe the situation. "Our work is to check the cleanliness in the city. The freshness and safety of the food is checked by FDA department. However, if a person is found spreading clutter in an area, action is taken against him or her," informed nagar health officer Dr SP Verma.
The situation is more or less the same across the city. The dysfunctional solid waste management plant has resulted in the haphazard dumping of garbage along the roadside even in crowded areas. The ongoing digging work for the laying of pipelines has further deteriorated the situation and contaminated water supply in several areas. Recently, the health department declared around 46 localities sensitive for the spread of epidemic. The district health department and government hospitals are continuously issuing warning about the sporadic cases of gastroenteritis, which are increasing in the city. Despite this, thousands of vendors are selling fruit juices, cut fruits, fast food and other edibles in insanitary conditions at Cantonment Railway Station, Roadways bus stand, Kutchehri area, Pandeypur, Chowkaghat, Andhrapul, Godowlia, Lanka, Nariya, Sigra and Vidyapeeth road, among other areas.
Even though the city is already struggling with dust, garbage and sewage overflow and there is an onslaught of diarrhea and stomach infections in the city, there is no way out to check the hygiene maintained in the preparation and marketing of edibles selling in open air.
"There is no facility to check the micro-bacterial elements in the food, which means if the food is stale and contaminated, we cannot identify it as such. The laboratories under the Food Safety and Standard Act are still to be upgraded. Our work is confined to testing of adulteration in the suspected samples which are further sent to Lucknow for testing," informed designated officer, Food and Drug Administration department, Ashok Kumar Sharma. What is even more shocking is that the department also does not have any chemicals or equipment to check the quality of the food on sale.
As per records of the FDA department, there are only around 5,000 registered vendors and license holders who are selling edibles in the city. In reality, there are an estimated 40,000 vendors who are into the business of selling edibles. We have the target of increasing the registration to 10,000 in this financial year," informed an officer of FDA department.
On other hand, Varanasi Municipal Corporation (VMC) apparently has no responsibility to probe the situation. "Our work is to check the cleanliness in the city. The freshness and safety of the food is checked by FDA department. However, if a person is found spreading clutter in an area, action is taken against him or her," informed nagar health officer Dr SP Verma.
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