Bhubaneswar Street Vendors Transition to Eco-Friendly Glass Cups and Reusable Plates | Bhubaneswar News
Bhubaneswar: In a positive development, street vendors in the city have begun opting for glasses to serve tea and re-usable plates to serve food, adhering to a recent mandate issued by the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC).
Under its ‘Swachh Street Food’ initiative, the civic body recently issued a directive, urging street vendors to discontinue the use of paper plates or disposable cups and maintain proper hygiene in their operational areas.
Complying with the directive, numerous street vendors, particularly tea sellers in Omfed booths, have replaced paper cups with glasses and are also utilizing clay cups to serve tea to their customers while food joint owners are using re-usable plates to serve food.
BMC’s directive instructed tea sellers to refrain from using paper cups or other disposable cups and instead use glasses or clay cups for serving tea. It also mandated them to keep two separate dustbins — one for wet waste and another for dry waste — in their establishments.
“We complied with the directive after realising that paper cups are more expensive. Therefore, we have reverted to using glasses, which are cheaper. Our primary concern is ensuring that customers adapt to this change,” Sarat Sahoo, an Omfed booth owner near Sainik School here, said.
During the Covid-19 pandemic, tea sellers had stopped using re-usable glasses for ensuring hygiene. Many tea sellers had then shifted to paper and other disposable cups to serve tea.
BMC’s directive also required food joint operators to wear aprons, caps, masks and gloves while serving food to customers. It further instructed them to use re-usable plates and ensure the safety of the food being served.
“Customers express greater satisfaction when we use protective gear. They think the food we serve is safe and healthy. Accordingly, we have started providing aprons, caps and gloves to our workers,” said Chinmay Jena, a fast food joint owner in Khao Gali near Ram Mandir.
City mayor Sulochana Das said, “We consistently work towards the well-being of people and the directive aims to ensure that safe food is served to the public.”
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