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Grading of the filthy
Tuesday, 14 October 2008 - 1:32 PM SL Time
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Don`t blame the Colombo Municipal Council (CMC), or any other local government body for that matter, for not doing anything about garbage. They don`t have to involve themselves in that task eateries in the city have long been in the business of turning garbage into food for humans.
Most of the vegetable refuse at market places in urban areas rarely go to waste it finds its way into the kitchens of eating houses. A couple of years ago a grocery owner in Colombo was nabbed for selling a stock of sausages past shelf life, which he had bought from a leading meat products manufacturer claiming that he ran a piggery! He couldn`t have been alone in that game. A newspaper once revealed how some people running boarding houses and eateries in and around Colombo removed rotten vegetables from the Manning Market on the sly to make a fast buck. Those people, it was said, were known as kunu mahatturu or `scavenging gentlemen`.
Behind neon-lit facades, there lie veritable hellholes which pass for eating houses where toilets are hardly distinguishable from kitchens and personal hygiene is something alien to workers in soiled clothes. Those who are compelled to eat there for want of a better alternative make it a point to avoid making a trip to the rear of those places for any reason lest they should throw up. It may not be too cynical a view that the hapless people who pay for food at these joints get hepatitis and typhoid on the house.
The CMC has suddenly woken up to the appalling conditions of eateries and restaurants in the city. We quoted Chief of the CMC Public Health Department Dr. Pradeep Kariyawasam yesterday as saying that all eating houses would be awarded grades A, B and C depending on their standards and those that fall into the last category given a choice between improving standards and closure. Such measures are long overdue but better late than never.
The question is what the CMC has been doing all these years. The existence of such squalid places dishing out food not fit for human consumption is an indictment on the whole caboodle of PHIs and their bosses who are paid to do their rounds regularly and bring errant businessmen to book. If the sheer number of unhygienic eating places in the city is any indication, then there has been a serious lapse on the part of the CMC. Have the health authorities been paid to look the other way.
We make bold to venture a guess that the majority of restaurants in the city deserve to be closed down forthwith instead of being graded. A cursory look at the congested and squalid eateries in areas like Borella, Maradana and Pettah is sufficient for someone to realise the grave threat they pose to public health. One may wonder where all the PHIs have gone when one sees the wayside joints where long distance buses disgorge captive passengers for refreshment on the way. Has some pestilence carried off the PHIs?
Unhygienic eating houses are a monument to corruption in the health sector at all levels. Unscrupulous traders and restaurant owners know how to sell fetid food and get away with it by greasing a few palms. Butchers know how much to pay for selling buffalo meat without being nabbed. Errant traders have to be careful only when raids are conducted by PHIs with TV crews in tow from time to time to have the public believe that they are doing something for the salaries they draw. Raids on groceries, super markets and restaurants must be an on-going process devoid of corruption, if errant businessmen are to be kept on their toes.
In grading eating places, we hope, standards will be adhered to strictly without fear or favour. Else, there is the possibility of all those places qualifying for Grade `A` like the myriad of driving schools, none of which seems to have a lower ranking. It is puzzling why the eateries with the lowest ranking should be given time to improve themselves while remaining open. That amounts to exposing the public to health hazards with the knowledge of the CMC, albeit for a limited period. Such places should be closed immediately and asked to seek permission for reopening after improving themselves to meet the CMC standards. Leniency only makes a mockery of laws and regulations. Sellers of bad food deserve no mercy. They are a curse to the public and must be treated as such.
It is a matter for happiness that the CMC has risen from its slumber at long last and realised the need to do its duty by the ratepayers. However, it must be prepared to overcome numerous obstacles in dealing with the unscrupulous businessmen who usually enjoy political patronage. Behind every crook, it may be recalled, there is a politician. Colombo is a city where not even unauthorised buildings can be pulled down without resistance from political nincompoops. Cleaning eateries run by wealthy mudalalis is, therefore, a Herculean task. We hope that the CMC health authorities won`t have to eat humble pie at the hands of the mudalali fraternity.
While thanking the CMC for taking bold steps to protect the public, we wonder what the CMC`s ranking would be if the local government bodies in the country were also to be graded by any chance as A, B and C with cleanliness, efficiency and transparency as criteria. We stop short of passing judgment. The discerning public, we believe, are the best judges. They only have to look at the Mount Garbage at Bloemandhal to determine the grade the CMC deserves.
Don`t blame the Colombo Municipal Council (CMC), or any other local government body for that matter, for not doing anything about garbage. They don`t have to involve themselves in that task eateries in the city have long been in the business of turning garbage into food for humans.
Most of the vegetable refuse at market places in urban areas rarely go to waste it finds its way into the kitchens of eating houses. A couple of years ago a grocery owner in Colombo was nabbed for selling a stock of sausages past shelf life, which he had bought from a leading meat products manufacturer claiming that he ran a piggery! He couldn`t have been alone in that game. A newspaper once revealed how some people running boarding houses and eateries in and around Colombo removed rotten vegetables from the Manning Market on the sly to make a fast buck. Those people, it was said, were known as kunu mahatturu or `scavenging gentlemen`.
Behind neon-lit facades, there lie veritable hellholes which pass for eating houses where toilets are hardly distinguishable from kitchens and personal hygiene is something alien to workers in soiled clothes. Those who are compelled to eat there for want of a better alternative make it a point to avoid making a trip to the rear of those places for any reason lest they should throw up. It may not be too cynical a view that the hapless people who pay for food at these joints get hepatitis and typhoid on the house.
The CMC has suddenly woken up to the appalling conditions of eateries and restaurants in the city. We quoted Chief of the CMC Public Health Department Dr. Pradeep Kariyawasam yesterday as saying that all eating houses would be awarded grades A, B and C depending on their standards and those that fall into the last category given a choice between improving standards and closure. Such measures are long overdue but better late than never.
The question is what the CMC has been doing all these years. The existence of such squalid places dishing out food not fit for human consumption is an indictment on the whole caboodle of PHIs and their bosses who are paid to do their rounds regularly and bring errant businessmen to book. If the sheer number of unhygienic eating places in the city is any indication, then there has been a serious lapse on the part of the CMC. Have the health authorities been paid to look the other way.
We make bold to venture a guess that the majority of restaurants in the city deserve to be closed down forthwith instead of being graded. A cursory look at the congested and squalid eateries in areas like Borella, Maradana and Pettah is sufficient for someone to realise the grave threat they pose to public health. One may wonder where all the PHIs have gone when one sees the wayside joints where long distance buses disgorge captive passengers for refreshment on the way. Has some pestilence carried off the PHIs?
Unhygienic eating houses are a monument to corruption in the health sector at all levels. Unscrupulous traders and restaurant owners know how to sell fetid food and get away with it by greasing a few palms. Butchers know how much to pay for selling buffalo meat without being nabbed. Errant traders have to be careful only when raids are conducted by PHIs with TV crews in tow from time to time to have the public believe that they are doing something for the salaries they draw. Raids on groceries, super markets and restaurants must be an on-going process devoid of corruption, if errant businessmen are to be kept on their toes.
In grading eating places, we hope, standards will be adhered to strictly without fear or favour. Else, there is the possibility of all those places qualifying for Grade `A` like the myriad of driving schools, none of which seems to have a lower ranking. It is puzzling why the eateries with the lowest ranking should be given time to improve themselves while remaining open. That amounts to exposing the public to health hazards with the knowledge of the CMC, albeit for a limited period. Such places should be closed immediately and asked to seek permission for reopening after improving themselves to meet the CMC standards. Leniency only makes a mockery of laws and regulations. Sellers of bad food deserve no mercy. They are a curse to the public and must be treated as such.
It is a matter for happiness that the CMC has risen from its slumber at long last and realised the need to do its duty by the ratepayers. However, it must be prepared to overcome numerous obstacles in dealing with the unscrupulous businessmen who usually enjoy political patronage. Behind every crook, it may be recalled, there is a politician. Colombo is a city where not even unauthorised buildings can be pulled down without resistance from political nincompoops. Cleaning eateries run by wealthy mudalalis is, therefore, a Herculean task. We hope that the CMC health authorities won`t have to eat humble pie at the hands of the mudalali fraternity.
While thanking the CMC for taking bold steps to protect the public, we wonder what the CMC`s ranking would be if the local government bodies in the country were also to be graded by any chance as A, B and C with cleanliness, efficiency and transparency as criteria. We stop short of passing judgment. The discerning public, we believe, are the best judges. They only have to look at the Mount Garbage at Bloemandhal to determine the grade the CMC deserves.
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AnuD
Senior Member
Joined: May 2005
Posts: 28941
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 17 Oct 2008 14:34:08 GMT Report for Abuse
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| There should be inspectors to inspect these places. IF a place gets bad reputation for 03 times consecutively, that name should be published in the newspaper as a warning to the customers. |
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