Kolkata, Sep 9 (IANS) People here proudly proclaim themselves as foodies, experimenting with gastronomical delights all the year round, sometimes oblivious to health and hygiene conditions.
This happens widely, more on the occasion of the largest religious festival of Durga Puja, and thus, anything coming in the way of this tasty adventure calls for another love — a fierce debate.
Even as officials point to this month’s sweeping crackdown on eateries ahead of Durga Puja having exposed shocking hygiene lapses, including rotten meat, pest infestations, and expired ingredients, the enforcement drive has quickly morphed into a political controversy.
Recent statements linking food habits to purity and piousness has further added to the controversy where some leaders of the ruling Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) have quickly stepped in to clarify these as individual choices.
Incidentally, the mass raids across Kolkata and some other districts involved the inspection of hundreds of establishments during a “Food Safety Week”. These included restaurants, sweet shops, hotels, among eateries and stores.
Licences of tens of eateries were reportedly suspended, where iconic names like Nizam’s, Karim’s, Arsalan, Balaram Mullick, and Don Giovannis have featured among others where authorities are said to have discarded more than a thousand kilos of unhygienic food, including rotten meat, stale seafood, and fungus-infested sweets.
Cockroach and rat infestations, expired ingredients, repeated use of cooking oil, and improper refrigeration were also reported.
Yet, the crackdown is being termed as being “politically motivated”, conducted to plant doubts over “certain food habits” in the middle of celebrations, a time when food-stalls remain crowded through the festive time.
The administration has said that with festive crowds surging, unsafe food poses a serious risk of foodborne illness. This the foodies who thrive on anything “non-veg” refuse to accept.
Among the array of different foodstuff, Bengal’s sweets are central to its identity, where revelations of unhygienic sweet shops become further alarming, especially when it is a name like Balaram Mullick’s.
Officials said that lax enforcement over decades has allowed unsafe practices to flourish, requiring strong corrective measures now, framing the crackdown as a necessary intervention to restore trust in food safety and protect millions of consumers during the Puja season.
Critics allege the raids are designed to project the government as a “protector of public health” during the festive season in a politically-sensitive state while targeting big names.
This narrative has fueled suspicion of “selective enforcement”, with “connected establishments” being claimed to have been spared.
The campaign is somewhat similar to Maharashtra Food and Drug Administration (FDA) Commissioner Tukaram Mundhe’s strict initiatives. He has also proposed a year-round food safety plan aimed at curbing adulteration of high-risk food items during festivals across Maharashtra.
The proposal includes an annual inspection calendar to guide food safety checks through the year and a three-tier plan for various festivals.
West Bengal’s restaurant owners however say that sudden suspensions threaten livelihoods, especially during peak business season where they also fear loss of consumer trust, even if they quickly comply by stipulated norms and reopen.
Some have reportedly claimed that raids as being more about optics than systemic reform, with little support for upgrading infrastructure or for training their staff.
While the move is a welcome sign of the government’s concern for food safety and consumer health, the time and names of eateries have come as catalyst for the argumentative Bengalis.
–IANS
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