Mysore: This Dasara, Mysore city will showcase its street food culture as a Dasara speciality. “It was an effort to mitigate all apprehensions and fears about street food culture. This city perhaps had the largest platter of street food after Bangalore,” said Devaiah, secretary of the food mela sub-committee.
Organisers have chosen to call the event Street Chat, and various associations of street food vendors have been asked to deck up their individual kiosks and push carts.
“The most important thing was to make the street food vending areas look clean and hygienic, and the vendors have been told to follow a few guidelines like using treated water for their food,” said Devaiah. He added that the vendor’s waste disposal methods were below expected standards, and were asked to make arrangements for disposing waste in closed containers starting this Dasara.
Nagaraj an office bearer of the Mysore city street food vendors association said: “We are open to the guidelines. That way, our business will also get legitimacy and will be accepted by even the higher income groups, which means that Mysore City Corporation and the district authorities will look at us as a new tourist attraction and keep us in the loop for Dasara festivities.” But unfortunately, with the special Dasara Thali idea failing last year, the food committee is not keen on promoting Street Chat, and neither is the hotel association enthusiastic about it.
DNA/ M Raghuram
