Monday, 19 February 2024 | PNS | DEHRADUN
The Municipal Corporation of Haridwar (MCH) has started working towards sanitation issues caused due to meat shop owners in the city along with the removal of encroachment near ghats. The officials said that the corporation is gearing up to improve the management, hygiene and other facilities considering thousands of pilgrims are expected to visit the city with the commencement of Char Dham Yatra. The MCH along with food safety officers and the police have started acting against illegal meat shop owners.
The MCH along with the Food Safety and Drug Administration (FDA) imposed penalties on four meat shop owners selling goat meat in the Jwalapur area under the Food Safety and Standards (Licensing and Registration in Food Business) Regulations 2011. Besides this, the corporation also imposed penalties of Rs 15,000 on goat meat sellers who dumped goat waste and body remains in drains and open areas. The continuous dumping of such waste can also lead to health hazards considering that the department concerned also sent a sample of goat waste to the laboratory for testing, the officials said. They said that the authorities are also conducting regular inspections of food establishments near the Railway station and bus stand. Besides this, MCH is also taking action against eateries that serve food near ghats illegally.
Many eateries bring food near ghats in big utensils and serve it to pilgrims and others in the name of Langar but people have to pay money to them. This often leads to dirty ghats and garbage accumulating in the area which leads to water pollution. Besides this, the quality of the food served to pilgrims there by random people in the name of Langar is also questionable. The officials said that these steps are taken to ensure pilgrims do not have to face any inconveniences in upcoming months, especially during Char Dham Yatra.
