No More Junk Food Outside Schools/ Hospitals!
With the rise in obesity amongst children and people falling sick owing to high cholesterol junk food like vada pav, bhajiya pav or the mouth-watering burgers, BMC has taken a laudable decision to ban all food stalls selling such high-content oily, deep-fried and fatty foods outside schools and hospitals.
It is generally observed that school children are attracted to street food vendors and, instead of eating home-made food, they prefer junk food which, unfortunately, is proving hazardous. Similarly, the kith and kin of patients at hospitals give fruits and coconut water to the patients to speed up their recovery. But, after visiting the patients, the same people are seen eating junk food sold outside hospitals, thus ruining their own health.
Hence, to discourage the trend of eating junk food both among the school students and people visiting patients in hospitals, BMC has banned the selling of street food within 100 meters of hospitals or school premises. In a notice issued, the civic body has banned the sale of junk food near hospitals with more than 100 beds or outside a school.
According to the BMC notice, instant action will be taken against illegal food stall vendors and they be will be ousted immediately. However, the legal vendors who violate the norms and do business within 100 meters of these premises, will be issued notices threatening further action if they do not stop selling junk food.
BMC has taken this step on complaints by medical officers who informed that many patients’ relatives, instead of eating hygienic in-house food from the hospital canteens, are seen eating from street food vendors, thus affecting their own health. Hence, BMC has issued notice to Mumbai’s prominent civic hospitals like KEM, Nair, Sion hospital, etc. alerting them to ban street vendors within 100 metres from the hospital premises.
Jayesh Jain:
“This is a good decision because it is generally observed children fall sick due to eating junk food sold on streets outside their schools. As junk food is not hygienic and has a huge amount of cholesterol it has many hazardous effects on children’s health and it impacts their studies, too, at a later stage!”
Dayanand Swami:
The food sold on the streets may be mouth-watering and delicious, but it is made of poor ingredients. Hence, it is inferior in quality. As a result, it adversely affects human health. H,ence the BMC order to curb junk food is laudable, but the law should be implemented seriously. Besides, it is essential that the BMC must also inspect the quality and hygiene of the hospital canteens for the welfare of common citizens’ health.”
