At least 10 people are confirmed to have contracted cholera and gastroenteritis, a majority of which are in the east zone. The Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike has intensified its eviction drive of unauthorised and unhygienic roadside eateries and meat shops.
Ravikumar Surpur, Special Commissioner (Health and Projects), told The Hindu that there were a total of 25 cases suspected in the city over the past few days out of which 10 cases have been confirmed.
“Crackdown on road side eateries is an ongoing process. However, the recent cases of cholera and gastroenteritis have just precipitated our actions against unhygienic and also unauthorised vendors across the city,” he said.
The civic body on Wednesday, expanded its crackdown to meat shops that are not maintaining proper hygiene. Officials have been directed to conduct surprise inspections on hotels to see whether they are maintaining prescribed standards. “We will sustain this drive for a long period of time. In the larger interests of the citizens of the city, we are taking strict action against many establishments,” he said.
BBMP Commissioner B.H. Anil Kumar said that the civic body was working with the Health Department and the Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board to prevent the spreading of both cholera and gastroenteritis.
“The drive is being carried out in all the zones. We request the citizens to stop consuming roadside food that are the source of infection and practice good hygiene he said,” he said. He also said not all the eateries were closed across the city.
In response to allegations that vendors were being targeted, Randeep D. Special Commissioner (Solid Waste Management) said, “We are carrying out eviction drives with any exception as the public health department cannot take any risk. The drives are also awareness campaigns warning people to avoid unhealthy and unhygienic food,” he said.
The BWSSB, has tested water samples from 29 places and all the samples met the national standards. Further, BWSSB plans to collect and test 80-100 water samples every day from across the city and upload the report on its website.
