Kolkata Municipal Corporation officials inspected four Park Street restaurants and collected food samples on Thursday, days before the Puja season is expected to bring a sharp rise in footfall to the city’s restaurant district. The repeat checks covered Trincas, Oasis, Kwality and Moulin Rouge, with samples collected from gravy and marinated kebabs among other items.
The inspection was described by KMC officials as a routine exercise and the third and final inspection of the year. It follows a wider municipal drive in which more than 40 restaurants in and around Kolkata were shut after inspections found unclean storage facilities and kitchens, as well as stale food items. Many of those restaurants have since reopened.
The four Park Street establishments inspected on Thursday had all received a clean chit during the previous month’s inspection, according to the report. The latest sampling will allow the civic department to conduct a fresh check of food quality and kitchen conditions at a time when restaurant footfall is beginning to increase.
Oasis owner Pratap Daryanani said the inspection was timely because revellers had already started arriving ahead of the Pujas. He said the restaurant had received a clean chit during the earlier inspection and that the latest check covered gravy and marinated kebabs. Daryanani also said Oasis had “passed with flying colours”, though the civic authority’s formal findings from the latest sampling were not specified in the report.
Trincas representative Anand Puri said the restaurant had not been informed of the latest result. He added that the previous inspection had not identified any issue. Kwality representative Tanvi Ghai said its footfall had started rising and that the inspection could help address doubts about hygiene and food quality.
The inspections place the city’s restaurant oversight system in focus at a particularly busy period. KMC’s earlier action showed that inspections can lead to closures when officials identify unhygienic kitchens, poor storage conditions or stale food. The current exercise, however, is a repeat check of establishments that had already received clearance in the previous round, rather than an announcement of fresh closures.
Sudesh Poddar, president of the Hotel and Restaurants Association of Eastern India, said a clean chit from the civic department would help restaurants improve food hygiene standards and reassure customers during their busiest period. The latest food samples will now form part of the civic department’s assessment of the four Park Street premises.
