From May, eat street food in Delhi without any fear

Eight ‘safe’ street food zones are being developed in the Capital where vendors will be required to adhere to strict hygiene standards. The ‘safe’ zones will be in Chandni Chowk, Sarojini Nagar, Karol Bagh, New Delhi Railway Station, Paharganj, Nizamuddin, Tilak Nagar and Krishna Nagar.

Come May, you won’t have to think twice before digging into that lip-smacking aloo chaat while out on the town. Eight ‘safe’ street food zones are being developed in the Capital where vendors will be required to adhere to strict hygiene standards.

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The ‘safe’ zones will be in Chandni Chowk, Sarojini Nagar, Karol Bagh, New Delhi Railway Station, Paharganj, Nizamuddin, Tilak Nagar and Krishna Nagar.

Nearly 2,000 vendors are being trained by the National Association of Street Vendors of India (Nasvi) in these markets.

“Each vendor will have to wear an apron and gloves and follow proper guidelines,” said Arbind Singh, national coordinator of Nasvi. After the vendors pass training, their outlets will bear a ‘safety’ stamp from Nasvi. Peer leaders will monitor and guide the vendors after that.

Once the safe zones are up in “two or three months”, Singh said the vendors will have better water supply, “we are in talks with civic officials to ensure this”. They can also get a ‘professional’ pushcart from a grant under the National Urban Livelihood Mission.

The steps come after Nasvi conducted a survey recently where 90% of 139 vendors surveyed admitted to scratching body parts while cooking or serving food.

The zones were earlier supposed to be ready by December 2013, but were delayed due to assembly polls.