Most of the roadside eateries in Thrissur do not have licence
Even as raids have been progressing at restaurants, bakeries and tea shops across the State, road-side eateries functioning during evenings continue to do brisk business every where.
No rules are applicable for these ‘eateries on wheels’, which usually appear only after dusk. Poor quality of stored water, use of non-permitted colours and repeatedly used oils are the some of the potential health hazards at the roadside eateries.
Many of them functions near clogged canals emanating nauseating stench. Some of them functions amidst huge garbage dumps.
The eateries themselves leave huge mounds of waste on road side every night.
As most of them functions without any licence, the authorities cannot take action against them. If one such shop is removed from one place, it will re-appear in another area in no time.
These ‘thattukadas’ have become a necessity now, especially for labourers and commuters who cannot afford costly food at the restaurants.
In many areas these shops create traffic blocks as the vendors encroach a portion of the footpaths and roads to carry out their businesses from dusk to late night hours. Mushrooming roadside eateries and their increasing clientele is a cause for concern, says District Food Safety Commissioner V. Jayachandran. “The food items that are kept in the open at roadsides can cause many diseases. Absence of a proper mechanism to check hygiene practices increases the risk. Food poisoning could be avoided by following good food preparation procedures,” he points out. Experts note that about 75 per cent of the diseases are caused by food contamination. Diarrhoea claims about 4 lakh lives in India every year, they say.