In a controversial move which has attracted criticism, the Bruhat Bengaluru Mahanagara Palike (BBMP) has been on a drive since Monday shutting down street stalls selling food, citing a spurt in cholera cases in the city. BBMP Commissioner BH Anil Kumar on Tuesday tweeted, “To prevent the spread of cholera & GE (gastroenteritis), BBMP has shut all roadside eateries and unhygienic kitchens. Request citizens to stop consuming roadside food as they are the source of infections.”
To prevent the spread of cholera & GE, #BBMP has shut all roadside eateries & unhygienic kitchens.
— B.H.Anil Kumar,IAS (@BBMPCOMM) March 10, 2020
Request citizens to stop consuming roadside food as they are the source of infections.#Bengaluru pic.twitter.com/0v3h7HiHCj
This preemptive action against the street vendors who often cater to the low-income segments of the city’s populace has triggered criticism. Dr Sylvia Karpagam, a public health specialist said this is just another move against the poor – be it slum dwellers or street vendors.
“This move is very unscientific and classist. The idea of cholera being spread by street vendors is just nonsense. Let them see who spreads cholera in other countries. Because it can spread via water, basically any type of faecal-oral transmission,” she said.
“Instead of shutting down street food stalls, there is a need to improve health education and sanitation. This is because people with cholera can spread the disease if they don’t maintain standard hygiene,” Dr Sylvia explained, “There is also a need for proper public health standards. Actually I have gone to many posh 5-star hotels for health check-ups, even they have cases of typhoid and diarrhoea. And there is no system of screening or monitoring and they just pay money and get clearances.”
She suggested that compared to street vendors, where one can see the food being prepared, it is hard to know about large hotels and restaurants – about how they are storing food and under what conditions and for how long. “So should we shut down all 5-stars too?” she asked.
Similarly, Bengaluru-based lawyer-activist Vinay Sreenivasa, who is a member of Bangalore Zilla Beedhi Vyapari Sanghatanegala Okkuta, criticised the city administration for targeting street vendors without any basis.
“Do they even know the root causes of cholera? BWSSB (Bangalore Water Supply and Sewerage Board) and BBMP cannot even give proper underground drainage and water all over the city, especially in slums where cholera outbreak happened, and they want to evict street vendors instead?” he asked.
He further added that this measure is illegal and immoral. “Vendors are ready to join hands with BBMP to fight for hygiene, but they should not evict them unilaterally. Where are poor vendors to go? Where will our customers go?” he asked.
BBMP says it’s playing it safe
Defending the BBMP’s actions, Chief Health Officer of the civic body, Dr Vijayendra said action is being taken only against vendors who are found to be keeping food uncovered or not “maintaining hygiene”.
“We have sent the samples to the lab and we are awaiting results. As a preventive measure, we have asked them to close down,” he said.
When questioned about the livelihoods of the street vendors, he replied, “What is more important right now? Thinking about that we have taken this decision. We have only targeted people who were seen to sell food which was not covered, otherwise, we are not touching them.”
As reported by TNM as of Monday evening, there have been seven cholera cases in Bengaluru (including areas outside BBMP limits) since March 1. BWSSB has denied any contamination in their water supply and said 29 samples collected from the affected areas have shown the water quality to be safe.