Bangladesh Parjatan Corporation (BPC) on Monday launched a campaign for ensuring hygiene of iftar items, cooked by the food vendors on the streets in the capital.
“We have launched the campaign as lots of Dhaka city dwellers used to and love to buy their iftar from street small vendors but the food that are consumed after a long fasting are not usually that hygienic,” BPC Chairman Dr Aurup Chowdhury said while inaugurating the campaign at Dhaka University campus.
Under the eight-day campaign, the instructors of BPC’s National Hotel and Tourism Training Institute (NHTTI) will give hygiene training to 200 street food vendors at Shahbagh, TSC, Nilkhet, New market, Elephant road, Science laboratory, Dhanmondi and Kolabagan areas in the city.
On the first day, a hygiene workshop participated by food vendors from the streets from Shahbagh to Science laboratory and from TSC to Nilkhet was held at the auditorium of Business Faculty of Dhaka University.
The BPC is conducting the campaign with the support of BRAC Chicken Enterprise and Tourism and Hospitality Management Department of Dhaka University, Daffodil University and IBAIS University.
The BPC chairman said buying of varieties of iftar items from streets are the tradition of Dhaka city and also a part of the culinary tourism of the country. “As we account our tempting iftar as product of culinary tourism, we should ensure hygiene of the food,” he said.
Dr Chowdhury said the government has declared 2016 as tourism year and set a target of attracting one million foreign tourists under the visit Bangladesh campaign next year.
As per the preparation of celebrating tourism year, the BPC has taken the initiative to ensure hygiene of iftar items, usually sold on the streets of the capital, he said. The street food vendors welcomed the initiative and said the campaign will help them to provide healthy items to the customers.
“It’s a good initiative from the government. Apart from conducting mobile court and realizing fines, now they stepped forward to train us to make hygienic food,” one of the vendors said.
Chairman of Tourism and Hospitality Management Department of Dhaka University Professor DR Mojibuddin Ahmed was also present at the inaugural ceremony.
Under the campaign, 200 food vendors will display iftar items, to be prepared following proper rule of hygiene, on June 23, 24, 28 and 29 on different streets in the capital.
