Odisha: Used paper plates littered at government-run Aahaar centres create panic

JAGATSINGHPUR: The restrictions imposed on dine-ins at government-run Aahaar centres have resulted in open disposal of used paper plates in many places increasing fear of infection in  Jagatsinghpur district. People opting food from the centres are often seen eating closeby and throwing away the used plates at will even on hospital campus. 

There are three Aahaar Centres in Jagatsinghpur - one on the district headquarters hospital (DHH) campus and two others at Badapadia and Atharbanki in Paradip. The Aahaar centre at Atharbanki is just near the Covid Care Centre (CCC) while the one on the DHH premises is close to the Covid isolation ward and testing centre. Nearly 400 people flock each of the centres daily to avail subsidised meals at `5 per plate. Earlier the centres used to provide meals in reusable plates.

However, after the government order on Monday restricting dine-in provisions at all eating joints , the Aahaar Centres here - two of which are in close proximity to Covid facilities - started giving meals in disposable paper plates. With no concern to maintain cleanliness, most people threw away plates all around the centres and nearby areas.  One Sankar Rout who came to attend to a patient at the DHH said, “I bought food from the Aahaar outlet as all hotels are closed due to the lockdown. I had to eat and dispose of the plate in the open as there is no proper disposal arrangement here.

Another attendant said he began to panic when he saw a person, who had come for Covid testing, taking meal from the same outlet. Neither the Health department nor the administration is realising the need to make necessary arrangements, they said. Sources said there is apprehension among locals, specially attendants on the DHH campus, of getting infected,  as they rely on the Aahaar meals. There are also questions as to why the Aahaar outlets in the district are not giving packed food as in Cuttack and Bhubaneswar.  

While in-charge executive officer of Jagatsinghpur Municipality Anjali Tarai could not be contacted despite repeated attempts, district nodal officer of Aahaar Centers Susant Kumar Ghadei said no step has been taken for packed food service yet due to want of funds.