Column

It is that time of the year when street-food vendors are hounded out of business to protect Mumbai from E Coli. It is important to steer clear of debilitating monsoon illnesses, but how scientific is an idea that depends on ad hocism and throwing the problem out with cooking oil?

My rant is not about the vada-pav, though it is one of the most savoury parts of Mumbai’s cultural palette. I am rattled that civic authorities are still reactive in dealing with crisis.

The anticipatory shutting down of vada-pav stalls, paradoxically, fits into the reactive category as it is not based on learning that will provide reliable, and uniformly implementable solutions.

How can one be sure that all vada-pav stalls have been shut down at and for the duration specified? More important, how can diners be assured that the smaller, but ostensibly respectable restaurants are following the micro-protocols of hygiene?

Such protocols don’t show up as ravaging rats during inspections. They manifest themselves in practices like food-handling, the good sense to give the hands a good scrub if they have been used to placate the itch caused by fungal inspection.

What the city needs is vigilance, sensitisation, and the articulation of practical alternatives to dangerous practices. Newspapers devote commendable efforts to inform readers about the need to boil drinking water. DNA explained precisely how long water must be boiled at the stipulated temperature.

The civic authorities seldom disseminate such live-saving information. I don’t remember a single monsoon-related flyer ever being distributed. Second, there will be people who need to eat out even if it is raining. The best way to protect them may be to discourage them from eating altogether.

That might not go down well with the activist types. Why doesn’t the BMC hold workshops to sensitise food-stall owners? “Don’t cook with water that has been kept in uncovered vessels for over XYZ days”; “Use chlorine tablets in water you serve”; “Make food only when you receive an order”. I made those up at a pinch. Food handling and preservation are expert domains, but I am sure you see what I mean.

Such practices will ensure that Mumbai is safe throughout the year. Great metros do not make lifestyle U-turns, they just swerve around hazards. And they do it with style. Remember how bottled-water golguppa was born?

raghu@dnaindia.net