Indian Express 04.06.2010
Dark days for Night Food Street; kiosks shut shop
Khushboo Sandhu Tags : food court, Night Food Street Posted: Fri Jun 04 2010, 00:18 hrs
While one of the owners winded up his business a few days after the auction this January, the other stopped functioning a few days ago. At least three of the remaining owners have not paid the monthly rent for the last few months. The Municipal Corporation has served notices for non-payment of the monthly rent to these kiosk owners.
One of the main reason is the high rent. For the first time since its inception in 2008, the civic body had auctioned the kiosks this year. Against the reserve price of Rs 31,000, the kiosks were auctioned at prices between Rs 500 to Rs 1.21 lakh per month. Going by these figures, the total earning from the eight food kiosks for a year was calculated to be around Rs 81.96 lakh.
We paid a hefty security to the Municipal Corporation after the auction. We were told that this would be returned only if we run the kiosks for three years. Now most kiosk owners are not paying the monthly rent and are contemplating giving up the kiosks,” said one of the kiosk owners.
The Corporation might have earned a handsome profit through the auction and was looking at earning a large amount of money every month, the project lost the very essence with which it was started.
Former Mayor Harjinder Kaur, during whose tenure the project was conceived, says, “The concept of Night Food Street was inspired by the Food Street in Lahore. The aim was to revive traditional concepts. It had to be a common man’s eating place that would also give a taste of tradition in an economical budget. Making it a purely commercial venture was not correct.”
One of the kiosk owners, who is still functioning, says, “We have paid six months rent in advance. I am waiting for the six months to get over and will then decide whether I would want to continue or not. The rent is too high and we cannot break even. In comparison to the heavy rent we pay, the facilities are very poor.”
The high rentals have ensured that the price of food items have sky rocketed. The Food Street was placed near PGI and Panjab University to cater to the students and attendants of patients. While the food available at PU and PGI is subsidised, the food on this street is expensive.
Another kiosk owners says residents are not ready to pay high price for food offered under the open sky. Whether it is extreme summer or rains, people prefer to stay away. Lack of hygiene is another big issue.
Former Mayor Pardeep Chhabra in whose tenure the project was inaugurated says, “The project was started with the aim to provide some source of livelihood to the unemployed youth. It was not meant to be a commercial venture. The decision of auction was not correct. Most kiosk owners are not paying rent and are gradually shifting out.”
MC Joint Commissioner T P S Phoolka says notices have been served to the kiosk owners. The future course of action would be decided soon.
