The health wing of the Kozhikode Corporation has collected over ₹63,000 as compounding fee from erring eateries in the city in just five days.
The health squads had intensified inspections after a recent incident in Kasaragod in which a girl died after eating shawarma. Health superintendent Shajil Kumar P. said the corporation had previously collected up to ₹16 lakh a year under the category.
He was replying to a submission by Congress councillor K.C. Shobhita at the corporation council meeting on Saturday. She had demanded that the civic administration keep constant vigil against food poisoning. “It is the duty of local body secretaries to coordinate inspections by the health wing on a regular basis,” she had said.
However, Corporation Secretary K.U. Bini pointed out that the health wing had been conducting regular inspections. “The health wing has night squad, day squad, and holiday squad for the purpose. We have no right to collect samples from eateries, as the Food Safety department does. Hence, we often carry out joint inspections. But we are free to book offenders,” she said.
The health wing had conducted 4,581 inspections in the last two years and booked 576 cases. This year, it carried out 117 raids.
On Saturday, the squad checked 15 eateries at Elathur and Mavoor Road, and six of them were fined.
