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The Supreme Court order banning cooking of food in the open has begun to be enforced strictly in some parts of Mumbai while business continues unhindered in most parts of the city. The crackdown on cooking of food gathered steam after a young girl died shortly after eating Chinese food cooked at a roadside stall some time back. After Vishakha Kokate, 17, died suddenly at her home in Thane, doctors confirmed that she could have consumed something poisonous as part of the meal. The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation ordered closure of pushcarts selling Chinese and other food. The crackdown failed after hawkers put up tables on pavements to cook food. "We were told that only licensed handcarts would be permitted to operate," said Sadashivam Muthu, a dosa seller at Dahisar in north Mumbai. Mumbai’s municipal officials say they are short-staffed and cannot check open-air cooking. Deputy Municipal Commissioner Vijay Kalam-Patil, who is cracking down on open-air cooking says, "We have seized more than 6000 hand carts so far." A large number of civic employees run roadside food stalls at night across the city. With hundreds of office-goers rushing out of railway stations every evening, nimble fingers dish out Mumbai’s speciality the vada pav for just Rs six. Most vendors are native Maharashtrians with affiliation to the Shiv Sena which controls the civic body. The party "allots" street corners to its followers to operate vada pav and other food stalls. A Mumbai-based NGO, Citispace, filed a contempt petition against the BMC for failing to enforce an earlier order of 2003 by the court. "As per the SC order only packed foods can be sold on the roads," says Naina Katpalia of Citispace. However most Mumbaiikars simply don’t care about safety. Just outside the Taj Hotel near the Gateway of India is the famous Bade Miyan Kebab stall which has grown from a single cart to at least three carts where experienced khansamas dish out succulent beef kebabs and rumali rotis. The owners of Bade Miyan have purchased shops all over the area to seat the customers. Years ago, the authorities cleaned up the bhelpuri/pani puri stalls along the city’s beaches. While the push carts were removed public support for the comfort food ensured that pucca stalls were built along the beaches for the hawkers. Now there is water supply and sewage disposal at these establishments. With the screws tightening on the civic administration, Kalam-Patil says an action plan is being drawn up to implement the Supreme Court order. It will be ready shortly. From the man on the street to Mumbai’s celebrities, all partake of street fare. At Nariman Point there are just two expensive restaurants that cater to five lakh office-goers who throng what is called India’s golden mile. Nearly half the companies that form the Sensex are headquartered in this area that sorely lacks a decent restaurant. "Never heard of the ban on cooking of food in the open," says Sanjana Kaul, an employee of Air India. Like scores of people in this area Sanjana queues up before these push carts. The push carts outside
the Air India-Express Towers buildings are legendary. Scores of push
cart owners and customers perished after a bomb went off outside the
Air India building during the lunch hour on March 12, 1993. But the
vendors and their customers were back before the week was out, though
remains of blown up vehicles remained for months. Many still carry
scars from Black Friday on their bodies.
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