Kochi food outlets are giving a Delhi belly

KOCHI: With Corporation and Health department claiming that serious steps have been taken against Hotels and Restaurants selling stale food and maintaining low level of hygiene, there are several hotels that are still functioning beneath the nose of the authority without any said standard in the city. The hotels and food stalls in the public places like bus stands and railway stations where most number of travellers relay for food are functioning without any hygiene. Shajahan, a Thiruvananthapuram native who arrived last week in the Kochi had gone through health trouble after taking food from a food stall in KSRTC bus stand. “I was travelling to Thiruvananthapuram and took food from a restaurant in KSRTC bus stand. The hygiene of the shop was very pathetic and the food was kept open. Since I got into the shop I took morning breakfast from there. Soon after getting out of the shop, I started to vomit. The food standard was low and authorities seem to have never looked into the matter,” Shajahan said.When City Express inquired this with the KSRTC officials, many of them said that even the KSRTC bus driver don’t take food from the said food stalls. “The complaint about the shop has been received and we have brought this into the notice of the Health department. But no action has been initiated. As far checking is concerned nothing has been done in the near past. We are not authorised to take any action as we have just given the place for rent to run the shop. The Corporation and DMO are the officials who have to take action against this. But unfortunately they have done nothing,” a KSRTC official said.Health Inspector Sasi Kumar said that the department is taking strict measures against such cases. Even they have initiated checking in these places but nothing could be found. “We conducted checking last month but hygiene was normal. The bus stand and other such public places can be vulnerable for spreading diseases. So we are looking into the issue seriously,” Health Inspector Sasi Kumar assured that they will take strict measures against them.