A raid on sweet shop, hotel and restaurant warehouses in the Gopal Math area of Durgapur, West Bengal, has uncovered shocking levels of filth and unsafe practices. Food Safety Department officials found cockroaches crawling inside sweet shop warehouses, rotten food and stale momos stored for customers, and domestic gas cylinders being used illegally in several shops.
Joint Team Acted on Local Complaints
Local residents had been complaining for a while about the quality of food, adulteration and unhygienic conditions in the area. Acting on these complaints, officials from the Food Safety Department, Durgapur Municipal Corporation and the police administration jointly launched a surprise raid in the Gopal Math locality. The sudden appearance of the joint team sent shopkeepers in the area into a panic, with several of them caught off guard during the inspection.
What the Raid Uncovered
The inspection found that several large sweet shop warehouses had completely ignored basic hygiene standards, with cockroaches and insects seen crawling freely around food items. Several hotels and restaurants were also found storing food and momos that were weeks old and rotten, meant to be served to customers. Another serious lapse came to light: instead of using commercial cylinders meant for business use, many shops were illegally running on domestic kitchen gas cylinders, a practice that could have triggered a major accident at any time.
Fines Imposed, Final Warning Issued
For openly flouting rules and safety norms, the administration imposed on-the-spot fines on several shop owners during the raid. Officials warned shop owners and staff to strictly follow every rule, from how food is stored to how it is sold to customers. Food safety officials made it clear that any compromise with public health would not be tolerated under any circumstances. The administration also indicated that similar raids would continue in other parts of Durgapur in the coming days, to ensure that food sold across the city remains safe and clean.
