The UP government has made it mandatory to write the nameplate i.e. the name of the shopkeeper on the food shops. CM Yogi gave this order on Tuesday.
CM Yogi Adityanath held a meeting with the Food Department. He said- All hotels, dhabas, restaurants in the state should be thoroughly checked and police verification of every employee should be done. Necessary amendments should be made in the Food Safety Act for the purity of food items.
According to the new order, it will be mandatory to display the name and address of the operator, proprietor, manager at food and beverage outlets. CCTV will have to be installed in the entire restaurant. Employees will be required to wear masks and gloves.
Earlier, the UP government had made nameplates mandatory on shops on the route of Kavad Yatra. The matter reached the Supreme Court. The court stayed this decision of the Yogi government. The matter is still pending in court.
Recently, a case of making prasad with adulterated ghee has come to light in Tirupati temple in Andhra Pradesh.
4 points of Chief Minister Yogi's meeting…
1. Mixing urine-spit with food items is disgusting The CM said- there have been incidents of mixing urine and spit in food. This is disgusting. This will not be accepted at all. A concrete arrangement should be made to prevent such incidents from happening in Uttar Pradesh.
2. Verification of shopkeepers should be done Dhabas and restaurants must be checked out. The employees should be verified by campaigning in the state. A team of food security, police and administration should do this quickly. Names and addresses of managers, owners and operators should be displayed on food outlets.
3. Every area of restaurant-hotel should be covered with CCTV CCTV should be provided in restaurants and hotels. Not only the seating area of the customers but the entire restaurant should be covered by CCTV. Every hotel operator shall maintain a secure CCTV feed. Will give when needed.
4. Chef-waiters must wear masks and gloves Food stalls should be clean. Chefs and waiters are required to wear masks and gloves. Rules related to production and sale of food items should be made more stringent.
Earlier, the UP government had ordered the installation of nameplates on shops across the state on July 19 this year. At that time Kavad Yatra was going on. The government's argument was that this decision has been taken to preserve the sanctity of the Kavadias.
The next day, on July 20, an NGO Association for Protection of Civil Rights filed a petition in the Supreme Court. In which this decision of the UP government was challenged and demanded to be cancelled. The case was heard for the first time in the Supreme Court on July 22.
The Supreme Court had put an interim stay on the order of the UP government. The court said that the shopkeepers do not need to reveal their identity.
Why did the UP government order again? During the hearing in the Supreme Court, the UP government cited the provisions of the Food Act. It was argued in the court that the Food Act has a provision that shopkeepers should write their name, registration number and other information in the shop. In such a situation, the question is, why did the government order again?
Sources said the government is not implementing any new rules. Some rules have been mentioned in the Food Safety and Standards Act, while some new rules will be amended and incorporated after the Chief Minister's order. After the amendment, writing the names of shopkeepers will become a law in UP.
Image Credit: (Divya-Bhaskar): Images/graphics belong to (Divya-Bhaskar).
