CM Dhami said that the recent incidents of spitting on food in the state should not happen in Devbhoomi Uttarakhand. Spitting incidents in food are constantly coming to the fore, and videos of spitting incidents are also going viral. Contaminating food is not good for anyone. The Chief Minister directed the officials to take strict action.

Mussoorie Police has registered a case against 2 people. According to Mussoorie Police, Dehradun resident Himanshu Vishnoi complained about Mussoorie Kotwali, in which he was told that he had reached Mussoorie Library Chowk (Gandhi Chowk) at around 6:30 in the morning. Many tourists were standing at the viewpoint at Mussoorie Library Chowk. There were 2 boys on a cart at Library Chowk who were selling breakfast items like tea, Maggi, and butter to everyone. He also drank tea from them and he stopped there and started enjoying the pleasant weather and the surroundings. During this time, he saw that the boy who was making tea was spitting in the tea-making vessel. He recorded a video of him spitting. When the tea seller was reprimanded for doing such a disgusting thing and playing with people’s health, both the tea sellers started abusing him and threatened to kill him.

When this matter was reported, a case was registered against both the tea sellers Naushad resident Jamsher Colony Khatauli Muzaffarnagar UP, and Hasan Ali resident Gaddi Khana Kitabghar Mussoorie Dehradun and the police arrested both the accused.

Thereafter the Uttarakhand government has issued guidelines to prevent incidents of spitting in food. They have announced a fine of up to Rs 1 lakh on those who do so. Along with this, police verification of hotel and dhaba employees has been made mandatory and there is an order to install CCTV cameras in their kitchens.

Health Minister Dhan Singh Rawat said that the safety and purity of food is the top priority of his government during the upcoming festive season. Rawat said any kind of impurity or anti-social activities will not be tolerated during the festivals. Director General of Police Abhinav Kumar issued guidelines to the district police chiefs keeping in mind the Chief Minister’s warning to the criminals. According to the provisions, the police can also take the help of the Health and Food Department for random checking at hotels and dhabas.

In my opinion, a public awareness campaign should be launched in coordination with the Health and Food Department, Municipal Corporation/District Panchayat, Municipal Councils, and local people. A detailed Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) specific to such incidents should also be issued immediately. The offenders should be booked under Section 274 (adulteration of food and drink for sale) of the Indian Justice Code and Section 81 (arrest without warrant for creating a public nuisance, knowingly spreading rumors, or causing false alarm) of the Uttarakhand Police Act. If the act has an adverse effect on religion, caste, language, etc., action can also be taken under the relevant Section 196 (1) (b) (promoting enmity between different groups on grounds of religion, caste, language, place of birth) or Section 299 (deliberate and malicious acts intended to insult the religious beliefs or religion of any class of citizens in India).

Article written by and Editorial credit: State Bureau Chief Himanshu Nauriyal.