CR BAN ON LEMON & SYRUP-BASED JUICES WHAT, NOW???
It’s the summer season and the mercury level is hovering around 40 degrees Celsius. Under such sweltering heat, forget human beings even the birds and animals are feeling the heat. To seek relief from such blistering heat, Mumbaikars generally prefer lemon juice and other syrup-based cold drinks like kalakhatta. But, alas, after the Central Railway ban on the sale of lemon and other syrup-based juices at food stalls at all railway stations under its jurisdiction, Mumbaikars are struggling to quench their thirst. More than the passengers, the food stalls selling lemon and other syrup-based juices are in a soup as their business has been adversely affected. Home Times team took a reality check at Mulund station and discovered that all the food stall-owners are annoyed with the ban!
Irked at the Central Railway’s ban decision, a Mulund station food stall owner said, “Ever since the Central Railway has banned the sale of lemon and other syrup-based juices at railway stations, our business has been drastically hit. Usually, during the summer months, there is a huge demand for lemon and other juices like kalakhata, but due to the ban we are facing a heavy loss.” He added, “It may be true that a juice stall owner may have indulged in an unhygienic method of its preparation, but because of a single culprit why to punish all the stall owners?”
Home Times, in its survey, found that there are four canteens at Mulund station. Two canteens are located at platform No 1 and two at platform No 2. However, all four canteen owners protested against the ban and demanded to lift the ban as early as possible. Interestingly, in the absence of lemon and other juices, there is a new demand for lassi and buttermilk but, alas, this facility is not available at most railway stations.
It may be noted the Central Railway has taken the tough decision after a video recorded by a concerned citizen went viral on the social media. The video depicted the unhygienic method of its lime juice preparation at Kurla railway station. A Central Railway official said, “The person in the video was seen using unhygienic water and squeezing lemons in a dirty drum and stirring the mixture with his bare hands. Hence, we decided to ban the sale of lime juice as it would badly infect people drinking such unhealthy and unhygienic drink.” On being quizzed instead on banning the Kurla food stall why did the Railway administration punish other innocent stall owners, the CR spokesman said, “It is impossible to deploy our staff at every station to monitor the juice-making process, hence we had to take this harsh step.”
It may be noted that, in 2013, Central Railway had permitted food stall owners at railway stations to make juices, but it was categorically mentioned that water used in making any syrup- based juice MUST be ‘purified’ and ‘clean’. However, the stall owners have been violating the norms and using unhygienic water! However, surprisingly, Central Railway officials did not detect the violation earlier. They awoke from their slumber only after the concerned citizen exposed the dirty business on social media.
