ISLAMABAD
Unhygienic, flies and dust-ridden sliced fruit pieces are being sold in the streets of the capital to the complete obliviousness of the health authorities concerned.
The vendors are making a lot of money by setting up stalls without any protection from flies and dusts outside offices, schools and other crowded locations, a report by Pakistan Today revealed.
They also sprinkle spices and lemon juices on the pieces. A large number of people were seen eating the sliced fruits with flies buzzing all around them at a stall at G-8 markaz.
Amjad Aziz, a roadside vendor at Abpara market when asked about the flies and the dust said, “This is an open place and it is difficult for me to control them.” He was using hand fan to get rid of them. It was also observed that he was washing the plates by dipping them a tub of dirty water.
Fida hussain, a taxi driver who was buying the slices from a roadside vendor at Bhara Kahu bus stop said, “I know this is not healthy, but I am very hungry and this is cheap.”
Dr Waseem Khawaja, spokesperson Pakistan Institute of Medical Sciences (PIMS) told Pakistan Today, “These vendors do not wash the fruit properly which causes stomach diseases like cholera, gastro and gastroenteritis.”
He also mentioned that the plates which are reused without being washed properly can lead to a spread of transmissible diseases.
