Chandigarh gives its sweet shops 48 hours to clean up

CHANDIGARH - In the wake of the upcoming festival season, the Chandigarh administration Friday gave a 48-hour ultimatum to sweet-shop owners here to comply with the guidelines of hygiene and proper ventilation.

There are about 20 guidelines, including repainting of walls, laying tiles on them, having cemented floors and adequate lighting.

The move has evoked mixed response among the sweet-shop owners.

“We are ready to cooperate with the administration but 48 hours are not enough. We need at least two weeks to fulfil these directions,” Sanjeev Sharma, a bulk supplier of sweets to various shops in Chandigarh, told IANS.

He said: “We are already in the festival season and it is difficult to get the labour at this time.”

Neetu Singh, a sweet-shop owner, said: “The timing of serving this ultimatum is wrong. Due to Diwali, we already have a lot of work load. It would be difficult to manage this.”

However, some people have welcomed this step.

“We are very happy with this decision. Every year, many sweet-shop owners sell spurious sweets, especially of milk, and bring bad name to the whole community,” said Mahender Grewal, another sweet-shop owner.

In a surprise raid Monday, the Chandigarh health department officials seized 7,500 kg of sweets, prepared in unhygienic conditions, from three major suppliers in Daria village here. Officials later destroyed the confiscated sweets.

“After the deadline of 48 hours, we would start raiding sweet shops and all the adulterated sweets will be seized and right away destroyed. It is the question of health of thousands of city residents so we have to act very strictly,” Chandigarh Additional Deputy Commissioner P.S. Shergill told IANS.

“These guidelines are already mentioned in the license agreement of the sweet-shop owners. They have failed to adhere to them so we have to take this step,” he said.