The Hindu 20.06.2013
Action sought against eateries encroaching parking space
The need to regulate roadside eateries in the city came
up for discussion at the Coimbatore Corporation Council meeting on
Tuesday. The issue was not about the quality of food served at the
eateries. But the way they encroached upon the parking space.
The
opening salvo was by the North Zone Chairman P. Rajkumar, who said that
there was near zero parking space around the Nehru Stadium and near
V.O.C. Park because the owners of the eateries spread out stools on
roads, eating away parking space.
With the police
regulating the parking of vehicles on Nanjappa Road, the city’s
residents were left with little choice but to drive to the area around
the Stadium to park.
Most of the vendors had 10 to 15
stools each and when spread over they occupied space that could
otherwise accommodate two or three cars. The quality of food they served
needed to be verified if it was good, he said and also sought attention
on the leftovers the eatery owners dump there. When they shut shop,
they dumped food waste in the vicinity. The food so dumped attracted
stray dogs.
The area around the Stadium and Park had
seen an increase in the dog population and that threatened the elderly
to went there for walking and sports persons who used the stadium around
dawn.
Mr. Rajkumar wanted the Corporation to
regulate the shops in such a way that they did not occupy parking space.
A few other Councillors also joined him.
In doing so
the Corporation should keep in mind that those who run the eateries
were people from the lower strata of society and that their livelihood
should not be disturbed, said S. Balan (Ward 62).
Whether
or not the eateries served quality food was a different issue. But they
encroached upon the parking space and they needed to be regulated, said
J. Sasirekha (Ward 72).
The issue regarding the
roadside eateries comes after the Corporation initiated a few moves to
regulate their activities. One was earmarking locations for them. The
Corporation with help from the IC Centre for Governance began talking to
the eatery owners by conducting a series of meetings to understand
their concerns. But those proved to be half-hearted measures.
Even
as the Corporation began talking to them, the authorities from the Food
Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) also engaged them to
improve the quality of food. Sources in FSSAI said that the department
officers had educated a number of roadside eatery owners on safety
practices to be adopted, how to ensure quality in food and what to
avoid.