Roadside food 'popular' source of diseases

Roadside food and beverages remain popular in the city as always in spite of the spread of food and waterborne diseases.

Consumers and sellers care very little about the hygiene and nutrition value of the foods. This has added to the worsening situation of diarrhoea and other waterborne diseases this summer, experts said.

Day labourers, rickshaw pullers and people from low-income groups tend to drink unclean water from street side sources.

"It becomes secondary whether the water is boiled when I drink from roadside sources because most of the time I remain very much tired after carrying passengers in this sweltering heat," said Barek Molla, a rickshaw- puller from Shyamoli.

"I know that water should be boiled but I don't drink boiled water at home because I don't have the time to boil water," he said.

Asked about boiling water, Pradeep, a day-labourer from Green Road, said, "I will think about it if I catch a disease."

Md Rahim, another rickshaw-puller from Goran, said, "Everybody is drinking supply water so I am also doing the same."

Roadside fruit vendors do not maintain cleanliness. Most of the time the knives used for slicing fruits are seldom washed.

In roadside tea stalls, one bucket of water is used for washing the cups and plates all day long.

"I know that boiled water should be used to wash the sliced fruits. But I use a bucket of supply water for this purpose. If I want to keep clean and boiled water I will have to carry gallons of water for which I will have to buy some buckets and a big cart to carry those. Besides, I will have to boil the water," said Wahidur Rahman, a vendor selling white flesh melon on the Dhaka University campus.

"To tell you the truth I don't have money to arrange these. I am already burdened with the soaring price of rice," he said.

Other fruit and tea vendors voiced the same opinion.

Sliced green mango, watermelon, cucumber, chanachur, jhalmuri, pickles, chotpoti, sugarcane juice, aloe vera juice and beef kebab top the list of street side food lovers.

Many have the habit of munching on food while walking and buying roadside food without thinking whether those food are fit for eating.

“I need something to munch on while walking. Who cares whether those are healthy or not," said Rizvi, a private university student.

"I never think about the hygiene of the roadside food. They are more tasty than those cooked at home. May be because they add an extra spice made of street side dust!" Morshed, a student of Jahangirnagar University, said humorously.

According to experts, people from lower income brackets are main victims of diarrhoea for lack of awareness and poor sanitation.

Dr Iqbal Hossain, an associate scientist at the ICDDR,B said that diseases like diarrhoea, typhoid, hepatitis A and jaundice can attack after intake of unhygienic food and water.

The practice of boiling water is almost absent among those who use firewood and other means of fuel other than natural gas, he said.

"Hot tea is comparatively less harmful if the teacups are washed with full boiled water. But if washed with normal or merely warm water then the risk remains," said Dr Iqbal.

In summer rivers and brooks, that are sources of drinking water, are dried up and contain high concentration of bacteria, he added.

Sources at ICDDR,B said that patients are pouring into the hospital as diarrhoea situation has worsened in the city. Most of those admitted to the hospital are rickshaw-pullers and day labourers.

The number of diarrhoea patients peak in May every year, they said.