The Kolkata Municipal Corporation will inspect food stalls, sweet shops and other food establishments across the city during Durga Puja as part of a special campaign focused on food quality, safety and hygiene. KMC Commissioner Smita Pandey announced the measures along with plans for sanitation, mosquito-borne disease control, civic-service monitoring and parking management during the festival.
The food safety drive will cover temporary stalls and established food outlets operating during the puja period. Officials will check the quality and hygiene of food being sold, with the campaign intended to address the increased activity around festival venues, markets and neighbourhood celebrations.
The civic body will also conduct three special campaigns during the festival to support dengue and malaria prevention and maintain cleanliness across Kolkata. The KMC health department will set up special camps in affected areas and take measures aimed at preventing mosquito-borne diseases.
According to the commissioner, dengue cases are lower this year than during the corresponding period last year. She said dengue cases were in single digits in most wards of the city. The source report did not provide the total number of cases, identify the affected wards or specify the locations and operating schedule of the planned health camps.
The announcement comes as the city prepares for increased footfall around puja pandals, markets and food outlets. The civic administration has appealed to residents and visitors to park only in designated areas because of the expected crowding around these locations. It has also urged people to maintain civic discipline and cooperate with efforts to keep the city clean.
The KMC also addressed the disruption caused by a technical problem at the state data centre. The failure had affected the functioning of the municipal corporation and several other departments, including payment processes. The state government’s Planning and Statistics Department is reviewing citizen-service portals and applications to help ensure that services reach people on time.
The report said that employees’ salaries were paid through alternative arrangements despite the disruption and that operations had now become almost normal. It did not specify which KMC services or payment systems remained under review.
The festival measures show how Durga Puja places simultaneous demands on Kolkata’s municipal systems: temporary food businesses require inspection, dense public gatherings increase sanitation and parking pressure, and health teams must continue mosquito-control work while regular digital services remain operational. For residents, the immediate points of contact will be food outlets, festival areas, designated parking spaces and health camps in affected localities.
The KMC’s next steps are to carry out the food and hygiene inspections, operate the planned health camps and continue reviewing citizen-service portals and applications during the festival period.
