Uttarakhand government has said that it will shut down and charge a penalty of upto Rs 2 lakh on shops that lie on the Kanwar Yatra route and fail to display names of their owners and licence enroute Kanwar Yatra.
The Yatra will be starting from July 11 onwards, state Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) issued guidelines directing shops lying on the route of the Yatra routes to make their identities public.
Letter issued on behalf of Health Secretary and FDA commissioner Dr R Rajesh warned that non-compliance with directives will result in heavy penalty and closure of the shopes. This aims to ensure safety of the food materials sold along the Yatra route and smooth conduct of Kanwar pilgrimage.
“There will be no compromise on the quality of food served at stalls, community kitchens (bhandaras), and shops during Kanwar Yatra. Stern instructions have been issued to all strict adherence to the guidelines in the letter for hotels and restaurants along Kanwar Yatra routes. A campaign to prevent food adulteration in Dehradun, Haridwar, Tehri, Pauri, and Uttarkashi districts will also be launched during Kanwar Yatra” said Dr Kumar.
The guideline provisions also applicable to small vendors and street hawkers, who too will be required to display their photo identification and registration certificates. Non-compliance will lead to penalties of up to 2 lakh under the Food Safety Act.
According to Uttarakhand FDA guideline shopkeepers not displaying names and other identities may be forced to close their shops in the absence of needed documents. It’s notable that apart from Haridwar and Rishikesh large number of Kanwar Devotees from other states also move to the different locations in Uttarkashi, Pauri and Tehri districts to fetch holy Ganga river water, thus extending their routes to these areas.
(UNI)
