Ahead of pongala festival food safety wing launches inspection

Attukal Devi temple in Thiruvananthapuram all decked up on the eve of the start of annual pongala festival on Thursday

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: With the annual pongala festival at the Attukal Bhagavathy temple beginning on Thursday, the Food Safety Commissionerate has launched a campaign for preventing the sale of adulterated and unhygienic food to pilgrims.

Two restaurants were closed during inspections taken out at 49 restaurants in the Corporation wards situated near the temple. Four hotels, 16 provisional stores and four bakeries have been slapped with notices, Food Safety Commissioner Veena N Madhavan said. 

Hotel Aswathi situated near the temple and Hotel Krishnadeepam at Kalady were shut down by the Food Safety officers. The commissionerate has made extensive arrangements for ensuring supply of water and food for the pilgrims arriving for the festival. Six special food safety squads have been deployed in the festival zone. They will function round-the-clock.

Liquor Ban

The district collector has ordered liquor ban in the Thiruvananthapuram Corporation area and Vellar ward of Venganoor grama panchayat on March 1 and 2 in connection with the Attukal pongala. The ban will be in effect from 6 pm on March 1 to 6 pm on March 2.

Health Department opens 24-hr control room

Preparations of the Health Department for the Attukal pongala festival have been completed, the District Medical Officer (DMO), said. The health department has opened a 24-hour control room at the district medical office which can be contacted on 0471-2466828. The department’s control room at Attukal will be functioning on Thursday. A special medical team will be deployed in connection with the Kuthiyottam ritual. Health sqauds consisting of medical team, ambulance, health inspectors and junior health inspectors will be deployed at the venue. Inspections under the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act (COTPA) have been launched in areas falling in the festival zone, the DMO said.

Food safety control room

From Thursday, a food safety control room will begin functioning at Attukal. Pilgrims can register their names for the ‘Annadanam’ at the control room. Complaints and grievances, if any, can also be filed at the temporary facility.

Complaints regarding food safety can be lodged with the Food Safety Commissionerate on the following numbers:

8943346198, 8943346526, 8943346582, 7593873324, 7593862806, 8943346181, 8943346195, 8592999666, 7593873351

Toll-free no: 1800 425 1125