The front portions of the stalls at Beach Food Street in Kozhikode are relatively clean, though the road often gets flooded on rainy days
| Photo Credit: K. Ragesh
Amid repeated complaints over unhygienic conditions and unsafe food-handling practices at the Beach Food Street, the Kozhikode Corporation is set to invite expressions of interest (EoI) to entrust an agency to undertake cleaning and waste management activities there.Corporation Health Standing Committee chairperson K. Rajeev said the civic body had decided to invite EoI and outsource the cleaning work at the food street to a selected agency.“The entire cleaning operation will be the responsibility of the agency. It will also be responsible for removing the waste from the food street,” he told The Hindu, adding the corporation hoped to select an agency and task the work to it within a month.A joint inspection conducted recently by the Food Safety department and the Corporation’s Health wing found several lapses in the way food was stored and served at stalls at the Beach Food Street.A closure notice was issued to a pushcart stall for operating under unhygienic conditions. Notices were also served to half a dozen other eateries for failing to maintain cleanliness. Officials said further action, including imposing of fines, would be taken against the shops violating health and safety norms.At the food street, the surroundings of several shops serving food were found to be unhygienic.The Beach Food Street was launched with the idea of offering food in a clean and attractive environment. However, traders and officials acknowledge that the facility is now struggling to maintain the standards.According to traders, there are around 90 pushcart and other stalls in the area. The front portions of the stalls are relatively clean, though the road often gets flooded on rainy days. The areas behind some of the shops towards the beach are extremely unhygienic. Traders also point out that the area has a couple of wastewater storage tanks that frequently overflow, causing wastewater to spill into the surroundings. They blamed the problem on the civic body’s failure to clear the wastewater every day.Corporation officials, however, said the Health Wing conducted regular inspections and wastewater was removed whenever traders reported that the tanks were full. They said there would be no compromise on food safety and hygiene standards.Mr. Rajeev, meanwhile, said inspections of shops at the food street would continue in the coming days.Deputy mayor S. Jayasree said the proposal was aimed at ensuring more efficient and systematic cleaning of the food street. “If the waste management is entrusted to an agency, we expect the work to be carried out more easily and efficiently,” she said.According to officials, the civic body is collecting a monthly fee of ₹1,200 towards waste management from traders at the food street. “Though the traders were initially reluctant to pay the fee, they are now paying it regularly. Entrusting the cleaning activities to an agency will not create any additional financial burden on the corporation,” the Deputy Mayor added. Published - August 30, 2026 03:39 pm IST
