Hyderabad: GHMC teams raid over 58 private hostels, penalise for running without licenses

Hostels in Ameerpet, Ashok Nagar and Dilsukhnagar were found to be operating by flouting the food safety, town planning, sanitation, and fire prevention norms

Hyderabad: Around 58 private hostels in the city at Ameerpet, Ashok Nagar and Dilsukhnagar, were found to be operating by flouting the food safety, town planning, sanitation, and fire prevention norms during inspections by the GHMC.

During the raids, the task force squads noticed that management of the private hostels were using the cellars and parking areas for commercial purposes, displaying large hoardings in violation of advertisement norms. The management was also supplying poor quality food to the hostel inmates in an unhygienic manner and toilets were not properly maintained, and food was found to be dumped in streets.

In Ashok Nagar, out of 20 hostels, two were closed for running without FSSAI licenses and unhygienic maintenance, while for another eight hostels, notices were issued for operating without trade licenses and nine hostels faced a penalty of Rs 37,500.

In Dilsukhnagar, a penalty of Rs 23,000 was imposed on 11 hostels for not having trade licenses, two hostels were closed for operating without FSSAI licenses, and notices were issued to seven others. In Ameerpet, notices were issued to 15 hostels for not having trade licenses and a penalty of Rs 1,85,000 imposed and one hostel’s kitchen was closed for operating without FSSAI license.

During the raid, the teams observed walls and ceilings to be unclean, exhausts to be greasy and dirty, house fly infestation, food handlers not maintaining personal hygiene.