An Ayesha Mumtaz for roadside vendors?

Regulating roadside food outlets is the PFA’s responsibility, Health Dept says

LAHORE: Roadside vendors offering chilled colourful beverages in the vicinity of schools, commercial hubs and recreation sites are not an uncommon sight across the city.

But anyone consuming such beverages to quench their thirst amid scorching temperatures can easily end up falling prey to diseases such as gastroenteritis. “Such beverages are made using dirty water. This is why scores of people fall sick during the summer, Mayo Hospital Medicines Senior Registrar Shoaib told The Express Tribune. He said the people must do their utmost to avoid consuming such beverages. He said a number of those admitted across hospitals had fallen sick after consuming such beverages.

While the situation at present was not alarming, Shoaib said, the government must take steps to regularise those engaged in vending such drinks during the summer. “The government must crackdown on them,” he said.

Lucrative business

A highly placed source from the Punjab Food Authority (PFA) told The Express Tribune that roadside vendors meant big bucks for the delinquent. “It is a billion rupee industry,” he said. Under the nose of the government, the official said, roadside vendors are engaged in proliferating diseases across all streets of the city and the province. “There is hardly any place left where one does not sight roadside vendors. Be it hospitals, parks, schools or commercial hubs,” he said.

The official said it was common knowledge that they bribed pertinent authorities to continue operating across specific areas. Sometimes, law enforcement agencies have roadside vendors on their payroll, he said. The official said their services were hired to keep an eye on suspects.

Official response

While the PFA has been cracking down on establishments involved in selling substandard fare, roadside vendors continue to rake in the moolah right under the government’s nose. On Saturday, the authority released a statement on a crackdown on establishments producing food in unhygienic conditions but very little was said about some of the burger points that were sealed by the PFA. This alone is a testament to what kind of action is being taken against roadside vendors.

The PFA remained unavailable for comments despite repeated attempts by The Express Tribune till the filing of this story.

On being contacted, Health Department Spokesperson Ikhlaq Ali Khan concurred that roadside vendors were to be blamed for the spread of diseases.

He said the PFA must begin cracking down on them. “It is its chief responsibility,” Khan said. Responding to a query, he said the department had already circulated an alert across health facilities on this account. Khan said all medicines needed to treat seasonal diseases were available across hospitals.

Published in The Express Tribune, May 8^th, 2016.