Unsafe food stalls a hit among rich and famous for late night supper

Surat: A well-known roadside food cart located at Athwalines, known for its pav bhaji, is thronged by Surat's rich and famous for late night supper. They sit on the bonnet of their BMWs and savour the food brimming with butter and cheese. For them eating at roadside stalls where food is cooked in an unhygienic environment with stray dogs and litter around, is a habit and way of life.
Similar situation prevails in areas like Rander, Kahu Galli, Adajan, Udhna, Gaurav Path and even the newly developed Vesu and new City Light areas. This has resulted around 12-15% increase in number of stomach related ailments and cases of food poisoning during summer.
A food cart selling omelettes and other egg preparations at Adajan Patiya is abuzz during night time. Customers have a minimum waiting period of 10-15 minutes to get what they have ordered . However, when it comes to hygiene, not much can be said about the joint.
"People don't want to drink water in disposable glasses as it costs a little extra. Also, they don't want disposable dishes and spoons. What can we do?" asks Baldev Jivan, who runs a Chinese food cart on University Road. People demand food in glass plates that are washed and re-washed in the same water the entire evening. Many demand tea or sugarcane juice in glasses that are used and re-used to save a little money. "There are people who demand even panipuri in mineral water, but they don't see the hands of the person who serves them and then they complaint of stomach discomfort," said Dr Aashish Niak, chief health officer, Surat Municipal Corporation (SMC).
"It is mandatory for people who prepare and serve food at roadside stalls to wear gloves and caps, but hardly anyone follows it. The reason is lack of awareness about health and hygiene among citizens themselves. Specially, people from certain areas like Udhna and Limbayat just don't care," Niak added. Vijay Shenmare, a textile worker from Pandesara regularly gorges aloo-puri and doesn't care even if it is served in shabby aluminium plate. "Who cares, till now nothing has happened to me and we will see when something happens." According to an estimate, over 10,000 food carts have never been checked in last decade. Reason: shortage of staff. Moreover, there is no legal provision of checking food carts with annual income of less than Rs 12 lakh.