Bashed for distributing stale food, BMC starts quality check

Officials say they will taste the food before it's distributed to people

As BMC sent out lakhs of food packets daily for the homeless, needy and migrant labourers stranded because of the COVID-19 lockdown, complaints started pouring in, particularly from the eastern suburbs, about the meals being stale.

Now, the BMC has decided to do a quality check before the food is packaged. Civic officials will taste the food first, said an official. "Food is prepared fresh every day, but as it takes time for the delivery and by the time people consume it, there is a chance of it getting spoilt owing to the hot weather. But now we are ensuring that food is packed properly so it remains edible."

Besides, the BMC has also decided to serve a variety of food items instead of just khichdi. The officials have planned to include peas pulav, chhole and bread in the meals from now on.

Many citizens asked for vegetables and chapati or roti, but as there is a lack of manpower currently, we decided to experiment with rice, said one of the officials.

Corporators, MLAs and MPs are assisting the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation in keeping their kitchen stocked to feed lakhs of citizens daily. A major portion of the food packets are sent to slum pockets of Dharavi and Govandi where restrictions on the movement of people is the strictest owing to a high number of cases of the novel Coronavirus.

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