New Delhi: Uttar Pradesh chief minister Adityanath has instructed officials to ensure that the names and addresses of the operators, proprietors and managers of eateries in the state are prominently displayed at the establishment. If necessary, the Food Safety and Standards Act, which deals with the subject, could also be amended, Adityanath told officials at a high-level review meeting on September 24.

This is not the first time this year that Adityanath has issued directives requiring food sellers to display the names of their owners at their eateries. During the recent Kanwar Yatra, his government had mandated that food sellers display the names and identities of their owners at their eateries along the Kanwar Yatra route. The Supreme Court, however, put a stay on that controversial move, which many believed was a blatant act of communal identification and discrimination.

Adityanath’s fresh directions to his officials came in the backdrop of at least four incidents over the last two weeks in UP where food stall staff or juice centres were accused of and penalised for allegedly contaminating edible items such as juice and rotis with human waste or spit.

On September 19, while opening a three-storey ‘floating restaurant’ in Gorakhpur, Adityanath made a cheeky reference to these incidents, without naming the accused or revealing their identity.

“It’s good, at least what you get here won’t be the juice from Hapur. You won’t get rotis........

© The Wire