Happy Diwali? Nine out of 10 of Delhi’s sweet shops unhygienic

NEW DELHI - Look closely at the pack of sweets you may have bought from a shop in the capital. Chances are the sweets were made in unhygienic conditions in a shop without proper water and drainage connections, a senior official said.

“Only 10 percent of Delhi’s shops which are selling sweets and confectionery have the required health trade licence,” V.K. Monga, Municipal Corporation of Delhi’s (MCD) health committee chairman told IANS Thursday.

To get a health trade licence, a shop must have a proper sewer and a Delhi Jal Board (DJB) water connection. The place should be hygienic and the shop should abide by the master plan approved by the MCD.

“In every street in Delhi, there are at least three to five unlicensed shops,” Monga said.

“Even if we prosecute such shops, the court lets them go by asking them to pay a small penalty. Whenever we ask them to complete the documentation, they never turn up. Many such shops have mushroomed in the city,” he said.

He also specified that Shahdara area of the city alone has 125 such shops.

The quality of sweets at these shops is suspect, and it’s better to avoid them, he added.