Switch from coal to LPG, KMC tells Maidan eateries
Times of India | 15 May 2024
Kolkata: The KMC environment department has conducted a special drive to stamp out coal-fired chulhas in the Maidan area. The move follows a Calcutta High Court directive to clean up the environment by ensuring fossil fuel is not burnt in the Maidan.
A team from the environment department spotted several food hawkers and owners of roadside eateries still using coal-fired chulhas near the entrance to Victoria Memorial Hall.“The hawkers are using coal chulhas to prepare tea and snacks. Burning of fossil fuel is rampant near Shahid Minar, where rows of eateries cater to passengers of long-distance buses,” said a civic official.
Sources in the KMC said the civic body had asked food hawkers in and around the Maidan and near Shahid Minar to apply for LPG connection. “If a hawker finds it difficult to switch to environment-friendly fuel due to shortage of funds, we may extend help,” said the official.
“We conducted a preliminary drive near Shahid Minar and the Esplanade bus terminus and asked the eatery owners to stop using coal-fired chulhas to cook food. They have sought some time to switch. We will again visit the area and if we find the hawkers have not acted on the advice, we may remove the stalls,” said a civic official.
Many of the owners of the makeshift eateries and food stalls expressed their inability to switch to LPG, claiming the more-expensive fuel will make their business unviable. “We somehow manage to offer passengers a cheap meal as the fuel we buy is not expensive. If we switch to LPG, we will need to increase the price of the food as buying LPG from the market will be expensive,” said Santosh Singh, an owner of an eatery in the Maidan area. Singh fears he might need to shift his business elsewhere if he was forced to do away with coal-fired chulhas.
The member, mayor-in-council overseeing the KMC environment department, Swapan Samaddar, however made it clear the civic body would take strict action against food hawkers and eatery owners who refused to switch to LPG. “We will give them some time and wait for them to adopt the change. But if they fail to use cleaner fuel, we may need to launch a drive to remove food stalls,” said Samaddar.