‘Roadside eateries becoming more difficult to stomach’

Doctors complain not a day goes by without having to treat patients with gastro issues

LAHORE: Doctors have complained that the lackadaisical attitude of authorities towards roadside eateries, junk food and unhygienic beverages has made gastritis as permanent feature at Lahore’s hospitals.

They said not a day goes by when doctors are not battling to save a patient from a potentially fatal gastritis ailment.



“If you consume food from a roadside eatery at the Railway Station, Lorry Adda or other congested areas, you will end up on the bed of a hospital,” commented Dr Rana Sohail, a senior medic at the Mayo hospital.

He said since Mayo Hospital was located in the heart of the city, he and his peers have witnessed gastro patients on a daily basis. He added most of them ended up at the medical facility after eating food from a roadside eatery.

“The silence of the Punjab Food Authority (PFA) against these eateries is raising several questions,” he stated. “At least they should regularise this business.” He said certain beverages were also made using dirty water and people must do their best to avoid consuming these harmful products.

Dr Ariful Islam of the Lahore General Hospital told The Express Tribune that the common symptoms of gastro were nausea, recurrent upset stomach, abdominal bloating, abdominal pain, vomiting, indigestion, burning or gnawing feeling in the stomach between meals or at night, hiccups, loss of appetite, vomiting blood or coffee ground-like material black and tarry stools etc.



A highly-placed source in the Punjab Food Authority (PFA) told The Express Tribune that roadside vendors were “a billion rupee industry”. “Under the nose of different government departments, roadside vendors are engaged in creating disease across the city and the province,” he said. “There is hardly any place left where one does not see roadside vendors; be it hospitals, parks, schools or commercial hubs,” he said.

The official said it was common knowledge that authorities had been bribed to allow these vendors to continue their operations in specific areas. “Sometimes, law enforcement agencies have roadside vendors on their payroll,” he said. The official claimed their services were hired to keep an eye on suspects.

A PFA spokesman, in defence of the authority, said officials was strictly monitoring the vendors, but it is impossible to eliminate the business altogether without the help of other government bodies.

“Everybody knows it is a mobile business and they establish their stalls for a few hours. It is also the responsibility of the other city institutions to keep a lookout,” he said. Replying to a question, the spokesman said the authority had started training roadside vendors on hygiene and provided information on how cleanliness standards could be improved.

“Believe me, in September alone, we have conducted five raids on the Lorry Adda and Railway Stations. Fines have been imposed on making food in hygienic conditions,” he said. “Apart from these raids and educating vendors, we are also preparing strict laws so this menace of the society can be eliminated for good.”

Published in The Express Tribune, October 17^th, 2017.