‘Sealed, Reopened & Bulldozed’: Flouting Food Safety Rules Proves Costly For Popular Joint In Bhubaneswar

Bhubaneswar: The popular Kishore Mutton Hotel was bulldozed on Friday after it was found doing regular business even though Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) had cancelled its registration for violating food safety guidelines and not maintaining proper hygiene.

According to sources, the food safety team of the BMC found food colours, sauces that had crossed shelf life and stale crabs at the joint, which made its way to many food bloggers’ lists and earned fame for its delectable mutton curry. “Food registration cancelled and penalty also imposed for poor sanitation,” the civic body tweeted on Wednesday.

The following day, staff at the hotel were seen making preparations for the day while its owner, Kishore Chandra Sahoo, refuted the news reports on the action taken by the civic body. He tried to make it appear like a trivial matter and said that the officials were at the joint since his food licence was to be renewed.

He also dismissed reports about using sauces in the food served in the hotel and the penalty imposed for poor sanitation. “It is a roadside stall and we are trying to maintain as much as hygiene as possible. The hotel next to mine was fine Rs 1000,” he said.

According to sources, the owner was running a full-fledged hotel business while he had a licence for vending street food like ‘gupchup’ and ‘dahi bara’ and was paying only Rs 100 tax towards it.

Responding to reports that the hotel has been reopened, Health and Food Sanitation Officer Dr Dipak Kumar Bisoi had said that it was illegal and action would be taken against the owner if he does not comply with the rules.

He said that the hotel was registered but did not have a licence. “We inspected Kishore Bhaina hotel on Wednesday and he has violated few rules in terms of food safety and the sanitation practice was also very poor. Therefore, the registration was cancelled,” said Bisoi.

The officer further said that Kishore can avail of the licence only after he becomes the land owner under the Food Safety Act since he has deposited electricity bills.