KOLKATA: Kolkata may soon get Bangkok vibes with three stretches being marked as "food streets", where dishes of different varieties and cuisines will be sold.
KMC has selected the area in front of New Market, the stretch at the south gate of Victoria Memorial Hall and in front of Millennium Park to set up the hubs. The civic authorities are also considering Prinsep Ghat as a probable fourth spot for the project.
Deputy mayor Atin Ghosh on Saturday said the civic body planned to set up the food hubs, modelled on Bangkok's street food hubs, immensely popular among locals and foreign tourists alike, for their cuisine spread, hygiene and affordability. Food-lovers and curious tourists flock to Jodd Fair market, Chatuchak weekend market, Srinakarin Train market and Silom among other places in Bangkok to get the culinary taste of Thailand and beyond.
The KMC has taken up the project with financial help from the Centre. If everything goes well, the food streets will offer at least 50 varieties of food for breakfast and lunch. "We chose the stretches in front of New Market, Victoria Memorial Hall and Millennium Park, given the places' popularity among residents as well as tourists-domestic and international. These places will be unlike the existing street food joints," said Ghosh. The KMC has appointed a consultant, an expert in drawing the models of such food hubs. "From selecting the stall designs to the food to be served, everything is being planned meticulously. We don't want to merely duplicate the existing street food zones in the CBD," said Ghosh.
While the KMC would provide infrastructure support, such as uninterrupted water supply, illumination, maintenance of roads and pavements and a special cleaning drive, it was likely to seek assistance from the All India Institute of Hygiene and Public Health (AIIH&PH) in determining the food value of the street food to be cooked and sold in those streets, said a KMC official.
A citywide survey conducted by AIIH&PH in 2005 revealed the nutritional value of Kolkata's street food notwithstanding, the stalls lacked basic hygiene as was evident from the washing of utensils.
Saktiman Ghosh, secretary of Hawker Sangram Committee, said the food streets were an exciting proposal as street food vendors would get an opportunity to showcase their skills in offering the best quality and varieties of dishes at the cheapest prices possible. "We have around 1.5 lakh food hawkers who need to get trained in delivering the best quality food to enhance the image of the city to foreign tourists. The KMC may pick up the trained food hawkers to run the food streets," said Ghosh.
