In yet another incident reflecting poor food safety standards, two children in Warangal were rushed to a local hospital after a dead lizard was allegedly found in the food served to them.
The incident took place at Bhavani Tiffins, situated on Station Road, following which the family approached the police. The complainant, identified as an employee with the State Bank of India (SBI), had taken her family to the tiffin centre for breakfast.
The dead lizard was reportedly found in the chutney that came with a plate of idlis, which resulted in the children falling ill.
The police did not register a complaint as the case was not under their purview and directed the family to approach the Greater Warangal Municipal Corporation (GWMC) as it came under the latter’s jurisdiction.
GWMC Municipal Health Officer Raja Reddy said that officials raided the premises of the centre and found that the employees were operating in unhygienic conditions. After sending samples to a lab for testing, officials temporarily sealed the outlet awaiting the lab report.
Raja Reddy also assured that strict action would be taken against the management if the tiffin centre is found guilty.
This comes less than a week after a man in Warangal found a dead rat in his curry while eating at a famous tiffin centre in the city. The incident took place at Akshay Tiffin Centre beside Rohini Hospital at Subedari where the customer, M Ramesh, found the rodent in his brinjal curry.
A video of the incident showed the rat on the plate, following which Ramesh lifted it up by its tail and carried it to the counter.
Speaking to TNM at the time, Raja Reddy had said, “While their premises were relatively clean and basic hygiene was maintained, their workers did not wear any gloves or hair nets or take necessary precautions while cooking. Therefore, we have fined them Rs 10,000 and cancelled their trade license for the next 3 days.”