Bhubaneswar: Expressing utter dissatisfaction over serving of stale food to the elderly residents at an old age home in the city, Mayor Sulochana Das on Friday directed action against the operator concerned, besides imposing penalties.During a surprise inspection on the day, she found the old age home operator served food cooked a day ago and stored in a refrigerator, to the inmates.Visibly furious, the mayor said such negligence towards vulnerable elderly people was unacceptable and inhuman.The operator argued that they received only Rs 23 per meal for lunch and dinner from the govt and no money for breakfast, but the mayor rejected the justification.She told the operator: “If you can’t serve proper meal, then don’t serve at all. But don’t harm people’s health by feeding them stale food.”Videos from Friday’s inspection, which surfaced on social media platforms, showed the Mayor warning officials and directing them to ensure that operators responsible for vulnerable groups maintained strict food quality standards.Of late, Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) has intensified its food safety drive in the city.The BMC’s food safety wing dumped around 100kg of stale and unhygienic food during inspections across 17 locations in the city in the past one month. The civic body also imposed a total of Rs 15,000 fines on hotels, eateries and fast-food vendors.Officials checked more than 200 stalls and restaurants, pulling up vendors for storing leftover food overnight and mixing it with fresh batches, a practice that can cause diarrhoea and other food-borne illnesses.
