Srinagar: For the first time, Srinagar Municipal Corporation (SMC) will be listing all eatables’ sale points sold at Army Cantonment area at Badami Bagh here.
The SMC’s move to extend its jurisdiction has come as the Cantonment had no designated Food Safety Officer or laboratory to test quality of eatables, a SMC handout saidWednesday.
It said SMC Commissioner Dr G N Qasba had called a meeting in this regard and directed the Health officials to carry out necessary measures to implement the Food Safety Act inside the Cantonment to ensure food quality and standards.
“It’s important that all eatables, wherever it is sold in Srinagar, are not adulterated or violating the Food Safety Act 2006. The SMC will be lifting samples from the Cantonment for necessary test to ensure sale of safe and healthy food items,” the handout quoted Dr Qasba as saying.
“The SMC will be now lifting samples from all the sellers housed inside and outside the Cantonment area. The SMC will be testing food samples periodically so that hygienic and up-to-mark unadulterated eatables are sold inside the Cantonment,” said SMC’s Health Officer Shafqat Khan.
Meanwhile, on the instructions of SMC Commissioner, the Health Officer held a meeting Wednesday with the Cantonment authorities, which was also attended by the officials of the Chinar Station Canteen and OIC station, the handout said.
It said the Cantonment authorities had requested to the SMC to “collect food samples from various shops in and around BB Cantonment and arrange analysis of the same to rule out any adulteration.”
The SMC has now asked the Cantonment authorities to send a complete list of food business operators and retail food outlets.
“The licensing of the same will be done under the relevant clause of the Food Safety and Standard Act 2006, which shall thereafter enable the Public Health Department of SMC to undertake regular sampling in the cantonment area,” the SMC handout added.

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