THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: In a flash raid conducted by the Health Wing of the corporation over the last two days at the food stalls set up near the Kanakakunnu Palace and Nishagandhi Auditorium, stale food has been seized. Food was also found stored in unhygienic conditions.
“In the last two days, we conducted inspections in eateries near various venues of the Onam fest to check if the green protocol was followed. On inspection, we found several stalls functioning in unhygienic surroundings. Pani puri stalls had their ingredients uncovered and some were serving leftovers,” said Prakash, health supervisor.
Health officials also found the chickpeas used in preparing dishes were cooked and stored in huge sacks inside an e-toilet near the museum. Officials shut down a pani puri stall wherein water used in preparing the snack was taken from e-toilets.
More than 75 kg of disposable plates and 20 kg of banned plastic carry bags were seized and handed over to the corporation and sent to the resource recovery centre. The health inspectors also found alcohol bottles in a few food stalls functioning near the Kanakakunnu Palace premises. “We are also spreading awareness among the public to be careful while eating food from wayside eateries at venues where most food items are exposed,” said a health inspector.
Mayor V K Prasanth said that the health squads will continue raids in the coming days to check the quality of the food served at food stalls. T
The state-sponsored Onam celebrations featuring more than 5,500 artists performing music and dance programmes across various venues in the city will come to an end today.