The Chief Minister's Dal Bhaat scheme may indeed be doing wonder in providing two time meals to the unprivileged at a meager cost of Rs 5, but maintaining hygiene at the centre seems to be a difficult task for the Mahila Mandals’ running these centers. The operators find cooking for a huge batch of people and taking care of cleanliness at the same time a daunting task.
A fact check at some of the centres makes it clear that providing clean drinking water to the visitors at the centre is difficult with this downfall of water level in the Capital city. Customers often drink the tap water collected in greasy plastic drums at the centres.
Moreover, the utensils for cooking food, plates for serving are washed with filthy water in most of the centres. And, adding to the irony the customers, most of them illiterate, one hardly complaints about the issue of cleanliness.
Surti Devi, Secretary, Pragatisheel Nari Manch, Sadar Hospital, said, “Being the busiest center located in the city it feeds approximately 400 people in the afternoon and around 200 at night. It is really difficult to maintain hygiene with the limited resources we are still trying our best in this direction.
She said that the lack of seating arrangement at the center and also the need of biofuel or coal essential for cooking the meals were major hurdles for them.”
Manohari Tirkey, Member, Dal Bhaat Center, ITI Bus stand said, “The center is quite big thus the seating provided is enough for the customer crowd, but there is shortage of drinking water and often the water we get is not upto the mark.” Also, she was worried about the security at the centre in the evening hours, for which she has already sent a letter to the Civil SDO.
A labourer taking meal at a centre said, “Though measures towards hygiene at the centres should be taken care of by operators, I have to take meals here because I have to feed my family too.”