Hyderabad: The fear of contamination is a matter of concern during rainy season and food inspectors need to be on their toes to collect samples. That, however, is not happening due to a huge crunch of manpower in both Telangana state and in Andhra Pradesh. The highest shortage is felt within Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation limits where there are only three inspectors against the total requirement of 26. In TS the deficiency is of 10 officers and in AP it is of 15 officers.
The process of appointment has not yet been started and even the posts have been sanctioned by the government in both the states. A senior food inspector in TS said, “According to the High Court order, every food inspector has to collect 10 samples of fruits, vegetables and cooked food and give it for testing in the state laboratory. This must be done from within their jurisdiction within a month. At the GHMC level it is not possible to collect samples as there are only three officers.”
The shortage of inspectors has put a strain on the food department. There are 24 GHMC circles with 63 municipal markets and 20,000 roadside eateries.
With the High Court order demanding that food safety must be given a priority, it has become mandatory for the officers to move on the streets. A senior officer working with GHMC said, “During the rainy season contamination of food requires lifting of more samples. But due to shortage of staff the samples are not being collected. There is too much pressure from the health officials. They are blaming the inadequate lifting of samples for the spread of diseases.”
While each is pushing the matter to the other person, the non-appointment of food inspectors has left the food department completely handicapped. Mr Vinod Kumar, incharge of TS food department, said, “GHMC has been apprised of the situation and has been asked to appoint inspectors soon.” A senior GHMC officer said, “The proposal is with the finance department. Till there is clearance from their end, inspectors can’t be appointed.”
