Mysore street food gets a makeover ahead of summer

Mysore: For the first time things looked up for the Mysuru city's street food business much ahead of Dasara festivities. The Mysuru City Corporation has released strict guidelines after MLA SA Ramdas had raised this issue in the City Corporation meeting recently.

Stung on many occasions for non-conforming with the food safety standards of the Mysore City Corporation and the state health ministry, the street food chain operators have started to put food safety on top of their agenda.

The city got a shock when a series of water and food prone epidemic including jaundice and cholera had surfaced in the heat of the last summer forcing a total shut down of the street food chains in the city for more than a fortnight in April.

In June the Mysore City Corporation had started tightening the hygiene around many places in the city including the Amba Vilas Palace, Mysore Zoo, Chamundi hills, Railway station, Bus stand and all other places which the tourists frequent. This drive also prepared the ground for stricter food safety norms.

'Firstly we had to educate the push cart vendors about the importance of maintaining hygiene in their establishments, secondly we told them if they keep on operating they should instill confidence in their customers –some of them foreigners about the food they serve to them, it worked and I learn from my health department officials that they have already started putting things into place. A total change could be seen in the cut fruit vendors around Amba Vilas Palace, many of them have modified their carts that sport a clean enclosure to store their ware and some of them were even wearing gloves and use quality fruits and toppings' Ramdas informed.

The Mysore District Street Vendors Association has also taken up a silent drive, to appeal to its principals in the state body to liaison with the government to make street food vending an organized trade. 'We are ready for the change and soon we will take up educating our members about the need of keeping our establishments clean' President of the committee told.

There is no way we can wish away the street vendors in the wake of the situation in Mysore, they are the providers of affordable food to the tourists in the unorganised sector tourism, but they should be given a larger picture how they can contribute to the progress of tourism in their own way, we cannot have wrong signals going to the outside world. In that eventuality the unorganized sector vendors will be the first and worst hit. It was better that they submit their trade to stricter regulations and follow the standards that are followed by the licenced eateries in a micro way.

But this development has not trickled in to other cities. Mangaluru, Belagavi, Hubballi, Dharwad have a great streetfood set up also. But they do not attract as much tourist traffic.