With the onset of summer the sale of variety of juices has picked up pace. People prefer to have cool and refreshing drinks in the hot sunny days. However, the hygiene quotient of the ‘refreshing’ drinks sold at the road sides and popular squares of city remains a deterrent for a common man to have them.
Although some juice stall owners claimed that they tried to maintain cleanliness and hygiene at their stalls but the ground condition at the stalls told a different story.
“We start up our day by cleaning our stalls with surf water and we even use disinfectant liquid to clean our stalls before putting fruits on them. We also use coils of different types to keep flies and mosquitoes away. This is how we try to maintain cleanliness,” said a stall owner.
But contrary to what the stall owner peels were seen in the vicinity of almost all the stalls. “The vendors keep their fruits peeled off in the open environment for long hours which get infected by dust and other hidden germs. Another practice which is seen in these vendors is that they wash the glasses in the same water from morning to evening, without changing it. Such things make it unhygienic,” said one of the customers who came to the stall for having juice.
“We the regular buyers witness such unhygienic practices everyday, still we consume such refreshments with a thought that it is good for heath, But is it really soIJ After having it many people suffer from different types of digestive problems,” said a buyer who is regular consumer of fruit juices.
Naresh kumar Sinha, PRO of Ranchi Municipal Corporation accepted the issue of filthiness in juice stalls. He said, “Such vendors belong to hand to mouth condition, so economic penalty cannot be levied on them, but dustbins will be provided to them by A to Z so that hygiene can be maintained in these stalls”.
However, versions obtained from different officials of RMC suggested that the municipal body has remained apathetic to the issue and it was not going to do anything substantial for the same in near future.