STP lacks septage treatment facility

Jisha Surya
June 30, 2013

Thiruvananthapuram: The sewage treatment plant (STP) at Muttathara has started functioning without much fanfare. The first of its kind in the state, the STP’s scientific treatment of sewage brings much respite to the city. However, the plant which cost nearly Rs 90 crore cannot decompose septage, the waste in septic tank.

Currently, the STP could treat only sewage only after suspended particles are removed from it. Large suspended particles, small suspended particles and grit were removed in a multi-step process during its movement through the intake chamber, screening chamber and grits chamber. Since the septage has solid waste, it has to be diluted into a liquid form before introducing into the STP.

“We need to have a septage diluting chamber to the STP for treating the septage. The septage has to be diluted before subjecting to aerobic treatment,” said an official, expressing hope that the facility would be included into the STP within a year.

Shockingly, the Corporation which collects septage from septic tanks in the city usually dump it secretly in manholes. According to a contractor, who is engaged in maintenance of drainage, it was a common practice of Corporation to dump septage in manholes in the roads. “It is one of the major reasons for the block in drainage lines. Ideally, the septage must be treated along with the sewage,” he said.

The tender for sepatge diluting chamber was cancelled last month after the KSUDP decided to re-tender around 16 works, citing technical reasons. As reported by TOI earlier, KSUDP’s decision to re-tender the works would affect the project as the period of work will end by March 2014. The empowered committee decided to retender some projects as original estimates prepared by Kerala Water Authority were above the expected rate.

However, the official in charge of STP said the Septage diluting chamber will be introduced in a year. “It would require only three months to install the machinery once the tender is awarded,” he said.

Meanwhile, KSUDP has invited tender for setting up package septage treatment plant of 100 m3 per day capacity at Ernakulam, Alappuzha and Palakkad the other day. However, the capital city was not included in the list though the city faces major crisis in treatment of septage.

ENDS

Sewage treatment begins at Muttathara plant

June 27, 2013
Jisha Surya

Thiruvananthapuram: The much awaited Sewage Treatment Plant (STP) at Muttathara began functioning on Wednesday. After a week-long trial run using water, sewage was pumped to the intake chamber of the STP for the first time by around 1 pm. The plant, spreads over 36 acres, treats the sewage water using activate sludge process.

According to the officials, though the plant has begun operations in full swing, the first three months will be considered as trial period. Though the original capacity of the plant is 107 million litres per day, only 42 mld sewage reach the STP from the core areas of the city. Sewage pipes will be connected to other areas within two years, officials said. So far Rs 89 crore has been spent on the plant. The total cost of the plant is estimated to be Rs 333 crore.

According to technical officer of STP A Mudhusoodhanan, sewage water is treated using activated sludge process, a biological method where oxygen is introduced into the water to activate growth of microorganisms like bacteria to decompose waste. The 36-acres built-up space of the plant has various chambers to process the waste water. According to officials, the large suspended particles in the sewage will be removed from the pump house before it reaches the intake chamber of the plant. From the intake chamber, it moves to the screening chamber where small suspended particles of size 0.5 mm will be removed. It then moves to the grits chamber, where long rotating blades will sweep grits which settle down in the bottom of the chamber.

The waste water then moves to the aeration tank where the water is allowed to fall in a rotating motor. The water gets splashed so that it gets contact with oxygen. Oxygen helps in growth of bacteria responsible for discomposing the waste. The aerobic treated water will move to clarifier where the waste will settle in the middle due to rotation of water. The waste will be collected and remaining effluent will be treated before releasing it into Parvathy Puthanar. The effluent will be treated in a process called super chlorination. The remaining sludge will be thickened and dried using a filter bed during summer and centrifuge during rainy season. There are two screen chambers, two grit chambers, four aeration tanks and eight motors in the plant.

When asked about the efficiency of the plant, the officials said that it could be assessed after the formation of sludge. “It would take more time to grow bacteria in the sewage water so that it could decompose the waste. The sludge will be formed by around 30 days,” he said.

Officials from the funding agency, Kerala Sustainable Urban Development Project, and Kerala water authority’s Jawaharlal Nehru National Urban Renewal Mission reviewed the work. Construction of STP began in 2009 by Noida-based UEM Group. The firm will be responsible for the maintenance of the plant for the next five years.

Jica project heads to a delayed completion

June 26, 2013
Jisha Surya

Thiruvananthapuram: It seems that the city has to wait further to enjoy the full benefits of the Japan International Corporation Agency-aided (Jica) water supply project. The work to lay distribution line is progressing at a snail’s pace. According to Jica officials, work is unlikely to complete in the stipulated time.

Initially, distribution pipes have to be laid in a total area of 410km in the city. Of these, 280-km pipe has been laid by a contractor, who failed to complete work on time. Following this, the Kerala water authority (KWA) called for a re-tender and work was assigned to a new contractor six months ago. Till date he has laid only 7km of the remaining 130km pipeline.

The contractor has been delaying the work citing shortage of labourers. The Jica officials have contacted the top-level officials of the Chennai-based firm to review the progress of work.

“Around 65% of the total length of pipe has been laid. However, the work is now moving in a slow pace. It is unlikely to complete by March, 2014. We are in touch with the company responsible for work. We expect to speed up work by mobilizing more labourers for the work after rain,” said an official.

The official said Jica-aided project has been partially commissioned in the city. “City is enjoying the benefits of Jica project as 80% population of the city gets 24-hour water supply through KWA and Jica projects,” he said.

Work of major components of the projects such as construction of intake well, treatment plant and tanks has been completed. The Jica project is divided into various packages, the first involves construction of intake well and treatment plant, second laying of main pipeline, third laying of distribution lines and fourth construction of tanks. Of the four, first, second and fourth packages have been completed.

Due to the delay in the project, the Jica-assisted water supply scheme has not been included in project status alert system (Pask) which provides frequent updates of the progress status of ongoing projects of KWA.

Eve’s non-essentials…

Jisha Surya
June 15, 2013

Thiruvananthapuram

Some say Greed, some others say the pressure for meeting both ends meet in a challenging environment. Elders, however, point to the rapid erosion of values. The new role that is getting popular among young and educated women - of a crooked criminal in plainclothes - continues to be an enigma.

From Sherin Karnaver who meticulously planned and executed a scheme to finish of her father in law three years ago to Saritha S Nair who was caught early this month for duping investors for crores of rupees, smart young women are the latest sensation in the docks in our courts. A deadly cocktail of beauty and brains is clearly visible if one intersects each and every such case.

“It is a shame on womanhood. I personally don’t understand how can a woman be a fraud, the basic instinct of a women being goodness”, said Gurdeep Kour, secretary of Expressions India Society, an NGO working for women empowerment.

But, psychologists point to the fact that the concept of good and bad has undergone a sea chage over the last few years. “It is a clear indication of the lowering criminal threshold”, said psychologist Dr Krishna Prasad Sreedhar. “Erosion in ethics and value system has caused this. Money making and retaining power by hook or crook have become the priorities of today’s generation”, he said.

Advocate Sreeja Sasidharan, criminal lawyer at Thiruvananthapuram Bar, had to handle several cases which were stemmed from the women’s greed. “Obviously, there is a rise in number of such cases. There was one recent case in which a house maid was caught for stealing money. She did it as she wanted to imitate the lifestyle of her employer,” she said. Sreeja also said there are victims of situations. “Everywhere you could see busy women. Situation is such that women have so many responsibilities that sometimes they dare to go for quick money as there are no other ways,” said Sreeja.

However, Vigilance ADGP R Sreelekha, said this is not a new phenomenon. “Contrary to general belief, women’s presence is always there in crimes, let it be a daughter-in-law and mother-in-law fight or a sex racket operated by woman. Whenever women involve in crimes, they always enjoy strong support of some man. In fact, women are forced to commit the act by men in most cases”, she said. Sreelekha also pointed out that still the rate of crime committed by women is much below that of men. “If you compare, it will be just 1 in 100,” Sreelekha said.

While women like Saritha Nair and Leena Maria Paul who commit financial frauds in the open are more vulnerable, there are women criminal who sit behind veils in the cyber world. The anonymity and secrecy offered by latest technology has led more women to cyber crimes than to conventional ones. Vinayakumaran Nair, Assistant Commissioner, hi-tech cell of the Kerala police said that women are found to be involved more in cyber crimes mainly due to the anonymous nature of cyber space. “In cyber space, there is no need for a physical fight or a straight conflict. They have the wrong notion that they won’t get caught,” he said. Vinayakumaran Nair also supported Sreelekha’s argument that women mostly enjoy support of men in committing crimes.

Gurdeep Kaur suggested that the issue can be addressed only after assessing the social situation that lead more young women to crimes. “I feel women are used as a tool in committing crimes. In certain cases, some women in crime are found to have sexual relations with men who motivate them to commit the crime,” she said. In such cases, they will act as slaves of those men, she said.

From online shops to astrology, these techies log on to part-time biz ventures

Jisha Surya & Rejith Balakrishnan
June 9, 2013

Thiruvananthapuram: For outsiders, they are busy bees having highly paid jobs. But several employees in Technopark are doing part-time business either for an additional income or out of passion. The well-dressed professional you meet at the Technopark campus can be an astrologer or a grocery shop owner. With or without the support of their company, these techies are looking forward to earning extra bugs and satisfaction.

S D Chandu, who is working in an information technology enabled services (ITES) company in Technopark, is successfully running a franchise of SmartKidz preschool near Technopark for the past one year. While working in Technopark, Chandu realized the need for a preschool that could accommodate children of techies working in odd hours. Finding the possibility of an 8am to 8pm preschool near Technopark, Chandu launched Smartkidz. “My parents were teachers. So the concept of a preschool came up in my mind. Being a person who likes to make every hour productive, I didn’t find it challenging to continue business along with work,” he said. Chandu’s wife Krishna K S and friend Anoop Vince, both formerly employees of Technopark, support Chandu in the venture.

Gopalakrishna Sharma, who works for a leading BPO in Technopark, he will help you with astrological solutions for any kind of problems, for Sharma is an astrologer for the past 10 years. “My bread and butter is my work. Astrology is a service and not a business. My consultations also help me in my studies as I am pursuing PhD in Medical Astrology from Prist University, Tanjore,” said Sharma, who revealed that one third of his clients are techies.

Techies first hit upon the concept of online grocery shops in Thiruvananthapuram. Trivandrum Grocery, one of the leading online grocery shops in the city, is run by Sajith Sasidharan, an IT professional. Sajith, director of trivandrumgrocery.com, said he was not concerned about the profit of his venture. For Sajith, his venture is an option for future income. “I don’t let my office work intervened by my business. My uncle manages Trivandum grocery while I supervise it after my work,” said Sajith.

Dileep P S, a quality analyst at Sea View Support Systems, found out that leading textile brands in the city were fleecing the consumers when he went to buy churidar for his wife in Bangalore a few months ago. “I was surprised to find out that the same quality materials were available there for half the price. It inspired me to launch my online churidar shop,” says Dileep. He has got the support of friend and colleague Ronald Morais in his venture. The duo conducts their business through their Facebook page ‘The Churidar Shop’. Within four months, their page has garnered over 700 likes and also done good business. They buy stocks from markets in Bangalore, Gurjarat and Rajasthan, where the products are cheap. ‘Our primary target consumers are techies, who can spend Rs 2,000-3,000 from their salary,” he said.

It’s not over. Techies make additional income using their skill in web designing, web applications, e-commerce, etc. A number of techies work as distributors of products such as Tupperware, T-shirts, etc. Also, Kazhakoottam being the hub of real estate activities in the city, some techies are even working as part-time real estate brokers.

Overflowing sewage lines bring fresh trouble for city

Jisha Surya
June 9, 2013

Thiruvananthapuram: Monsoon has brought fresh troubles for the city as 90% of sewage lines are overflowing. According to a senior official of sewage department, most of the rainwater outlets in houses and apartments are connected to the sewerage line resulting in the overflowing of waste water. However, recurring maintenance of the main pump at Kuriathy is cited as the main reason for the overflowing of manholes.

According to sources, the main pumping station in Kuriathy requires frequent maintenance. “Lot of money is being spent for maintenance. The sewage from other pumping stations such as Kannammoola, Plamoodu and Murinjapalam is pumped to the main well at Kuriathy. When the pump at Kuriathy stops functioning, the manhole in the city starts overflowing,” said a source. Work to remove sand from manhole termed as ‘bucket cleaning’, which has to be done before monsoon, has not been completed yet. It reduces the capacity of manhole.

The sewage department is planning to issue a public notice asking all residential and commercial buildings to have separate outlets for rainwater. “Around 70% household waste water passes through sewage lines. When the rainwater too flows into the sewage line, the quantity gets manifold,” said an executive engineer attached to sewage section.

While giving sanction for sewage connection, the department signs agreement with consumers asking them to have separate outlet for rainwater. However, the agreement remains on papers.

Officials of sewage section denied that the pump at Kuriathy was under maintenance. “The pump stops working only at the time of power cut. Unlike the water supply, sewage pumps were not exempted from power cut,” said an official.

Most of the manholes in the city are overflowing following the onset of south west monsoon. Clogged water at major areas increases the risk of communicable diseases such as leptospirosis.

Tunnel to history in neglected state

Jisha Surya
June 6, 2013

Thiruvananthapuram: The capital city, where pipe bursts and digging up of roads are the order of the day, has a rich history of a foolproof water distribution system. The neglected old Pipeline Road connecting Aruvikkara to Vellayambalam, under which passes the city’s first transmission line, is proof for this. However, the beleaguered Kerala Water Authority (KWA) does nothing to protect or maintain it.

The tunnel laid across the Kowdiar-Vellayambalam road is an engineering marvel, which marked a watershed in the water distribution system of the capital. Now, the plot where the inspection well and opening of tunnel is located –– near Golf Links road –– has turned a dumping yard.

The plot, once encroached upon by a private party, was acquired by the KWA after a legal battle. The authorities feel erecting a board claiming their ownership of the property is enough. There is no protection or periodic maintenance of the inspection well and tunnel which carries 33-mm diameter ductile iron pipe commissioned in 1933. More than 36 million litres of water is being pumped through this pipe daily.

Records available with the KWA also show that there existed periodic inspection of the pipeline road from the entire Aruvikkara to Vellayambalam stretch in the past. Now, most of the Pipeline Road is being encroached upon and the KWA has totally neglected the area.

According to local residents, garbage, including waste from slaughter houses, is dumped on the plot. The inspection well and the tunnel is out of view as the plot is overgrown with bushes due to poor maintenance. Lack of protection of a sensitive subject such as transmission pipe is a serious matter to introspect. “The plot must be turned into a children’s park. It has a rich history. Children will be interested in the history as well as the engineering marvel of the tunnel,” said a resident.

Kowdiar ward councilor S Sathikumari said that the plot was in a neglected state. “If the plot is maintained as a park, it would be beneficial. The KWA must take action on it,” she said.

KWA superintending engineer K Sasi said the department will take steps to clean the plot. “We are planning to protect the entire Pipeline Road. Currently, it is stuck in some cases. We will take steps to clean the plot where the inspection well and tunnel are located,” Sasi said.


Made in 10 days

The tunnel was constructed across the Kowdiar-Vellayambalam road in 1931 to ensure the safety of the pipe laid under the road and to avoid digging of road for maintenance, which may sound crazy now. More surprising is the fact that the tunnel was constructed in just 10 days. According to the duty records of the then executive engineer, the work of the tunnel was midway when they got a call from the Kowdiar Palace on October 4, 1931. The palace wanted the road to be cleared for royal chariot to pass on October 15. Around 200 workers toiled day and night and completed the work on October 14. The royal chariot carrying Sri Chithira Thirunal Balarama Varma passed through the road to Durbar Hall on October 15. The tunnel carries 33 mm diameter ductile iron pipes made in England.

Technopark gets boundary wall

Jisha Surya

June 6, 2013

Thiruvananthapuram: Almost 18 years after it began functioning, Technopark has constructed a boundary wall around the campus. Unlike other Special Economic Zones (SEZ), Technopark lacked a fool proof boundary. The porous and small wall that existed almost 6 months ago had made way for several miscreants to the campus. Some of such incidents have led to Technopark general body to give permission to construct boundary wall along the entire 300 acre campus.

The new wall constructed is 4750 metre long, three metre high and have helical shaped barbed wires above it. The construction which began almost six months above has been completed now. The wall which existed at some stretches was below 1 metre high. “In some areas where the wall existed, it has been raised. New wall of 3 metre height was constructed at other stretches. The entire work cost Rs 1.6 crore,” said a Technopark official.

Construction of boundary has become crucial at a time when security system of Technopark receives flak. In surprise check conducted by law enforcement agencies recently, Technopark has failed to ensure foolproof security. With the construction of wall, authorities feel that they could give more emphasis on the security system at the gates.

In the previous years during events such as Tech-a-break, outsiders in inebriated conditions have created issues in the campus. Also cases of looting of helmet, petrol etc from motor bikes parked inside the campus too were reported.

However, construction of boundary wall was not smooth for the Technopark authorities. A group of locals led by Attipra councillor M S Sangeetha disrupted the construction recently demanding allocation of a road, drain etc for the people, who were once evicted for the construction of Technopark. “Around 21 families, mostly belong to daily wage labourers, who were evicted for the construction of Technopark are staying at Mulluvila near the Technopark. They are living in highly congested place and waste water from nearby hotels is flowing into their land. We demanded the park authorities to allot some land for widening the road and also to construct a drain. Technopark CEO Gireesh Babu has agreed to do so,” said Sangeetha.

Sangeetha, meanwhile, expressed concern over the construction of boundary wall as it causes water logging of the surrounding areas.

KWA headless with top officials retired, MD on tour

Jisha Surya

June 2, 2013

With a number of top officials retiring and the managing director going on a foreign tour, smooth functioning of the Kerala Water Authority (KWA) has become headless.

The technical member, the chief engineer - general, chief engineer – JICA project and chief engineer - WASCON have retired on May 31. The post of accounts member, who is responsible to review the financial matters of the department, is lying vacant for the past two years. “The Accounts member worked in KWA on deputation from AG’s office. The post remains vacant ever since he went back to AG’s office two years ago,” said a KWA employee. Currently, finance manager is in charge of the work of the accounts member.

Though the Managing director is on a visit to Netherlands, none has been given the additional charge. The MD is expected to return on June 10. Replacements for the retired personnel can be done only after the return of MD from foreign tour. Currently, there is no head for the multi-crore project Japan International Cooperation Agency-assisted water supply scheme. The chief engineer post of WASCON, the consultancy wing of KWA, too remains vacant.

“Functioning of department is getting affected as the top officials in the decision making body are absent. It may be reflected in the allotment of government fund to the department,” said an employee.

'I raised my voice on behalf of all the women in the audience'

February 16, 2013
Jisha Surya

What was meant to be an awareness campaign for women turned into a senseless, sexist tirade against them. Until a brave, young college girl stood up and booed the speaker into silence.
"Men, including me, need just 10 minutes to impregnate women. Then, the woman has to carry the baby in her womb for nine months. That is why the Holy Quran asks women to be calm and gentle. But women did not like that. They want to jump one step ahead of men. What they don't realise is that if they jump like men their uteruses will drop and it will need lakhs of rupees to cure them."

Revolting as it was, this piece of wisdom was handed down to young women at an awareness campaign in Thiruvananthapuram hosted by the Kerala government. Dr Rejith Kumar, the leader of the Moolya Bodhana yatra (moral value campaign) organised across the state recently by the education department, was holding forth on the perils of being too "bold" at the concluding event of the day. Surprisingly, thousands of students from Kasargod to Thiruvananthapuram obediently heard our Kumar, a biology professor, as he carried on his tirade last week at the Government College for Women. Until one girl raised her voice in protest.

Arya S, 21, found the nerve to boo him when he told the girls that smart boys can, easily, lure girls into relationships. "I stood up and booed him at that point, " says Arya, a BA final year student. Soon, the youngster walked out of the programme as a mark of protest against Kumar, who also ridiculed women who wear jeans and makeup.

"I can pardon her. The problem is with her DNA, "Kumar remarked, trying to sound magnanimous, as Arya walked out. What Kumar did not realise was that his nonsensical comments at a small, local college event would end up raising a media storm.

"I don't know why other girls didn't protest against the sexist speech. I really feel sorry for them. Most of the girls in the audience were students from a nearby school and of course our own college. I raised my voice on behalf of all the women there who were too inhibited to protest, " says Arya.

"After I walked out, some volunteers of the National Service Scheme, one of the organisers of the programme, reportedly approached Kumar and told him to stop before more women protested, " says the bright-eyed college girl.

Arya, who comes from Pathirappally in Alapuzha, says that right up to high school she was just another ordinary girl, terrified to raise her voice. "It is the Women's College which shaped my individuality in a way that allowed me to protest against injustices. "

The youngster says she has had to deal with lewd comments from male passengers each time she travels home from college. Till she found the courage to retaliate. "I slowly made up my mind to raise my voice against tormentors in the train, " she says.

Arya's father is an insurance agent and her mother a head nurse. "When the media reports first came out, they were scared. But now they support me," says Arya. She has had to face some flak within the college. "Most students and teachers congratulated me but some opposed my stand. It's okay. Individuals should be allowed to hold different opinions," she says.

Support for Arya is pouring in from various quarters, especially from political leaders and social activists. This has pushed the education department into conducting an inquiry into the issue. State education minister PK Abdu Rabb says, "I have decided to take action. The details will be revealed later," adding that he has watched the controversial video. The state human rights commission has also ordered a probe into the incident.

http://www.timescrest.com/society/i-raised-my-voice-on-behalf-of-all-the-women-in-the-audience-9765

A new recipe for techies to relish work

 Jisha Surya & Rejith Balakrishnan

Thiruvananthapuram: Several companies in Technopark are adopting Google-model gamification as an ideal way to strengthen employee bonding, engage and motivate employees and to make the workspace more productive in a pleasant way. For this some firms are experimenting with and implementing varieties of gamification.

“People never leave a company for less salary, but for dislike for people around. Gamification could bring a solution to one of the major headache of HR-internal politics,” said CEO and managing director of Kreara Solutions Anoop P Ambika, who successfully created an employee-friendly workspace.

Gamifiaction aims at bringing together employees and establishing a good rapport between them and developing mutual respect. At Kreara, a Culture and Sports Committee (CSC), formed three years ago, heads all gamification activates. “We have divided entire employees of the company, including the director and CEO, into four groups. There are various activities during free time. We have earmarked one hour in 10-15 days in December exclusively for such activities. It ushered in positive changes in employee bonding and satisfaction level. After 10-11 hours of work, you won’t feel drained,” said software quality assurance engineer and team lead at Kreara Binoy S.

Technopark firm Digital Brand Group (DBG) is another company which embraced the concept. The company has been experimenting with this new management tool for the past six months and has been getting positive results so far, according to Deepu S Nath, the managing director of the web and mobile application development firm.

Deepu said that though gamification was implemented in the company just six months ago, he had always ensured a relaxed environment for his employees right from the start of the company in 2008. “For example, the company did not have an attendance register when it was started, though I introduced it later only for the sake of it,” Deepu said adding that for the past five years, no employee had to sacrifice family engagements for work as not a single leave application was rejected.

In his company, each work assignment is treated as a task in an online game, on completion of which the workers are awarded points on the basis of their performance, which would in turn give the workers a chance to improve their efficacy. Bonus points mean monetary incentives.

The DBG has no specific dress code for its employees. Every month, all the staff of the company organize trips and movies along with their family members, which they believe would help create better bonding within the team members. And, last but not the least the company do not have office boys. Even the smallest of the jobs in the office are shared among the employees. “It was from Farmville, the popular online game, I adopted the basic idea of gamification,” said Deepu.

“When you get a chance to represent a big company for an event, that raises your confidence level,” Anoop P Ambika said. He, however, said the activities most be focused and it is important to maintain balance.

Gamification also brings a chance to rub shoulders with the top brass, which rarely happen in routine work.

“When there is a strong employee bonding, companies will get the courage to take bold steps,” said Anoop adding that Kreara is planning to introduce a chill out area, where they could engage in ‘technology gossip’ sessions.

A year on, shawarma case is still an open-ended one

By Jisha Surya

Thiruvananthapuram: Call it ironic. But it was after the tragic death of a student, Sachin Roy Mathew, and hospitalization of more than 20 people reportedly after the consumption of ‘shawarma’ that the then little known food safety department came to the spotlight. The shawarma incident was the first major case that came up before the department after the introduction of Food Safety and Standards Act in the state in 2006.

Though the food safety department conducted a serious of raids, surprise checks, etc. in hotels across the state in the last one year, the way it handled the shawarma case was worth introspecting.

The officials failed to collect samples of the shawarma, which allegedly caused food poison to several people and resulted in the death of Sachin in Bangalore. Sachin had bought two shawarmas from Salwa Café restaurant in Vazhuthacaud before leaving to Bangalore on July 10, 2012. He died at a hotel in Bangalore the next day. At the same time, more than 20 people were admitted to various hospitals in the city. “The issue came before us only on the third day. By the time, the hotel workers had destroyed the samples and we could not collect them,” said a senior food safety official.

When asked whether they could collect any evidence to link shawarma with the food poison, the officials said that they collected evidences, including bill records, of the other victims. “We got the medical records and statements of the people who were hospitalized for food poison. The medical report did not specify food poisoning, but it says that the symptoms are that of food poisoning,” said the official.

The department had filed a chargesheet at chief judicial magistrate court almost six months ago. Food safety officials put the onus of further investigation on the Museum police, who are probing the case. “Police will collect other details such as postmortem report, forensic report, etc. The postmortem was held in Bangalore,” the officials said.

However, the incident was an eye opener to the department, which began periodic checking of eateries after the incident. Lack of skilled employees, infrastructure facilities and efficient laboratories affects the functioning of the department.