| RIPUNJOY DAS | ||
| DIBRUGARH | ||
April 19: The next time you relish that delicious dal makhani at a roadside dhaba and desperately want to peep into the kitchen for the recipe, don’t bother. Chances are you won’t survive the experience. Vegetables are cut on unwashed floors in unhygienic storerooms and cooked beside clogged drains with rodents running around. Not just dhabas, the hygiene standards in restaurant kitchens across Dibrugarh are just as horrifying. Whether the food is cooked in adulterated oil or leftover oil remains to be inspected by the authorities concerned. “Cooks and waiters are also required to abide by certain codes pertaining to dress while cooking and serving. However, an inspection of some of the restaurants in Dibrugarh town showed that vegetables like potatoes, pumpkins and bottle gourd were peeled and cut on unclean floors,” Kumud C. Borah, the secretary of Dibrugarh Consumer Protection Forum, alleged. Sweets are also prepared in dusty rooms. Most eateries have staff latrines attached to the kitchen — the primary reason why most owners do not allow customers into the kitchen. Almost all the hotels flout norms laid down under the Food Safety and Standards Act, Borah added. There are also allegations that the health officer or sanitary inspector of the Dibrugarh Municipal Board overlooks safety norm violations by roadside food vendors and eateries. When the violations were brought to the notice of the chairman of the board, Chandra Kanta Baruah, he promised to “look into the matter and take necessary steps in this regard”. Most of these vendors wash cups and plates in a bucket of water recycled through the entire day. Such food, if consumed, can cause diseases like diarrhoea and gastro-enteritis, with symptoms like vomiting and indigestion. Neurological problems, too, can be triggered, said Dr A.K. Das, an associate professor in the department of medicine at the Assam Medical College and Hospitals, Dibrugarh. The district administration has been acting on errant restaurants but the inspections are sporadic, allowing eatery owners to flout health norms without fear of penalty. Around a year ago, the circle officer of Dibrugarh (east), Sarangapani Sarmah, had closed down two prominent restaurants in Chowkidingee for not conforming to rules. “The fact that the district administration is failing to rein in hotels and eateries despite forming separate inspection teams shows utter disregard for public safety. Therefore, we appeal to the administration to maintain strict vigil,” said Jyoti Sankar Chaliha, a social worker and resident of Milannagar. |
| RIPUNJOY DAS | ||
| DIBRUGARH | ||
April 19: The next time you relish that delicious dal makhani at a roadside dhaba and desperately want to peep into the kitchen for the recipe, don’t bother. Chances are you won’t survive the experience. Vegetables are cut on unwashed floors in unhygienic storerooms and cooked beside clogged drains with rodents running around. Not just dhabas, the hygiene standards in restaurant kitchens across Dibrugarh are just as horrifying. Whether the food is cooked in adulterated oil or leftover oil remains to be inspected by the authorities concerned. “Cooks and waiters are also required to abide by certain codes pertaining to dress while cooking and serving. However, an inspection of some of the restaurants in Dibrugarh town showed that vegetables like potatoes, pumpkins and bottle gourd were peeled and cut on unclean floors,” Kumud C. Borah, the secretary of Dibrugarh Consumer Protection Forum, alleged. Sweets are also prepared in dusty rooms. Most eateries have staff latrines attached to the kitchen — the primary reason why most owners do not allow customers into the kitchen. Almost all the hotels flout norms laid down under the Food Safety and Standards Act, Borah added. There are also allegations that the health officer or sanitary inspector of the Dibrugarh Municipal Board overlooks safety norm violations by roadside food vendors and eateries. When the violations were brought to the notice of the chairman of the board, Chandra Kanta Baruah, he promised to “look into the matter and take necessary steps in this regard”. Most of these vendors wash cups and plates in a bucket of water recycled through the entire day. Such food, if consumed, can cause diseases like diarrhoea and gastro-enteritis, with symptoms like vomiting and indigestion. Neurological problems, too, can be triggered, said Dr A.K. Das, an associate professor in the department of medicine at the Assam Medical College and Hospitals, Dibrugarh. The district administration has been acting on errant restaurants but the inspections are sporadic, allowing eatery owners to flout health norms without fear of penalty. Around a year ago, the circle officer of Dibrugarh (east), Sarangapani Sarmah, had closed down two prominent restaurants in Chowkidingee for not conforming to rules. “The fact that the district administration is failing to rein in hotels and eateries despite forming separate inspection teams shows utter disregard for public safety. Therefore, we appeal to the administration to maintain strict vigil,” said Jyoti Sankar Chaliha, a social worker and resident of Milannagar. |
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