Street food continues to be a big draw with Delhiites despite its health hazards, according to a new study

There’s no VAT, no service tax and no hidden costs, which makes street food a big draw for many Delhiites.

Sarvesh, a street food vendor in North Campus, did not put up his golgappe kiosk for a week. When he returned to work, Anshuman, a youth from North-East, asked him where he was all these days.

Sarvesh replied he had fallen sick and Anshuman quipped: “What, you ate your own golgappas?”

Sarvesh laughed and so did Anshuman, their giggle a proof of the tacit understanding between the vendor and the consumer about the ill-effects of dirty street food.

While Sarvesh knows he’s not serving the most hygienic food, Anshuman is aware of the adulterations and contaminations in the grub he’s digging into. But neither of them is ready to change his habit.

According to a study, street food continues to be a big draw with Delhiites despite its health hazards. Hygiene takes a back seat when the smell of fried snack overpowers our senses.

But this sinful indulgence is not without a reason. Street food is a sight to relish not only because of the taste but also its affordable cost.

No VAT and hidden costs make street food a “reliable” product. The so-called hygienic food joints can give you a heart attack with the additional charges in the bill.

Also, there’s no guarantee of full hygiene being maintained in food preparation in closed kitchens. If a cockroach crawls into a milk container, chances are, the cook would throw out the insect and make good use of the spoilt milk.

The thought may be repulsive but it’s a fact nonetheless. Hygiene is a hypothetical term which stands no value in the food industry. In such circumstances, one can either take the risk of eating out or “maintain hygiene”.

A majority of people opt for the former and still survive the assault of the additives on their digestive system.

There’s a bond of trust between the consumer and the vendor which forms the basis of street food business in India.

Here everything is in the open unlike the West where you can’t even be sure if your burger has horsemeat stuffing in it.

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/indiahome/indianews/article-2283831/WHIPLASH-Delhi-consumers-choose-street-food-health-hygiene.html?ito=feeds-newsxml

From seekh dog – curried minced mutton to masala mac-n-cheese, brace yourself to savour dozens of authentic original recipes and international specialties with a twist.

Come and be a part of the food revolution with the Urban Food Festival at Eggspectation, the 24 hr resto café in Vasant Vihar.

With Eggspectation being a franchise of the Canadian chain serving international menu with an eclectic selection of fine fare, there could not have been a better place to showcase an amalgamation of Indo-American cuisine. Enzo Renda – CEO, Eggspectation is in India to grace this unique promotion with Indian, Italian, Canadian, American and Mexican cuisines on the menu.

The menu represents a new trend of urban cuisine with world street food recipes creatively displayed and fusioned. The fest’s culinary objective features items of homely comfort food and updated classics with a twist.

For Starters, there is roasted corn and chicken soup, Fresh veggie roice wraps, classic Canadian poutine, subziyon ki tikki, smoked wild salmon crostini and chicken tikka chaat. In salads, you can pick from greek country style salad, phalon ki chaat, asian slaw salad, californian salad and tandoori chicken salad.

In breads, there is an array of options between Greek style flatbread, piri piri flatbread, New Delhi tandoori flatbread, American ‘All dressed’ flatbread and
puttanesca flatbread.

After choosing your kind of bread, opt for making your own sandwich or burgers like the mushroom melt veggie, chhole samosa burger, BBQ tenderloin, cajun jalapeno, Keema, gourmet grilled cheese, shrimp po-boy and chicken parmigiano.

If main course is what you prefer, there is veggie quesadillas with tofu, masala mac and cheese, the urban masala dosa, lobster mac and cheese, grilled tandoori fish and chips, pulled lamb phulkas and chipotle barbecued pork spare ribs.

If you have room for dessert, there is mascarpone crepe, crepe suzette, chocolate banana crepe, strawberry blonde crepe, strawberry and gulab jamun strudel, tiramisu, eternal snow, giant american donut, chocolate volcano icecream and cherries cupcake.
The ambience is comfortable and cheery with lots of natural light; specially crafted Harlequins are a prominent feature as is the interactive kitchen.

http://www.deccanherald.com/content/313553/street-food-fiesta.html

After being rescheduled following the much talked about Delhi gang-rape , finally the much awaited week-long annual Dilli Ke Pakwaan food festival started with a spark this Friday next to the emporium hub of the city on Baba Kharak Sing Marg. In an increasingly globalised world where authentic flavours have been taken over by generic food there are still some gem of eateries in the bylanes and corners of the Walled City which still preserve the flavours of the past.

The festival organised by Delhi Tourism has brought such culinary delights of these age-old eateries out in to the open for everyone to enjoy. Nothing can get better for food lovers than have all the famous street food joints and vendors coming together and presenting their delicious master dishes. Be it the famous Daulat ki chaat, Khan ke kabab, Purani Dilli ki biryani, chicken Changezi, Dilli Ke Pakwaan has got it all together. I started the celebration on a sweeter note with the kulfi (Rs. 40) which most of the people were holding in their hands while roaming. Nice to see its various colourful flavours! Next, I moved on to the Dilli Chaat corner which was crowded by ladies and children. I somehow managed to place my order and enjoyed the water bursting golgappas (6 pcs for Rs.30).

Then I sat under a tree and watched a couple of cultural dance troupes from Rajasthan and a puppet show. But it was the group performance by quwwali singer Ustad Kamaal Sabri which mesmerised the audience. It was a mesmerising evening where people were enjoying both food and music. After the quwwali, now it was time to eat some serious food. Purani Dilli ka qorma (Rs.150/plate) along with roomali roti and mutton biryani (Rs. 200 /plate) seemed to be the best options. Qorma was fresh and biryani was served hot right from the degh. For vegetarians it was the soya chops (Rs.70/plate) served with two roomali rotis which were worth trying. But surprisingly it was the Nomadic Food Corner which had a good footfall. People in power suits were seen enjoying the village food where roti was made on a mitti ka tawa and subzi on a chulha. It was delicious, a must try. Before moving out, I regained my lost energy by having a spoonful of Daulat ki chaat (Rs. 50) and Ratan ki jalebi made inpure desi ghee.

One suggestion, as the way to a man’s heart is through stomach, try the delicacies with your spouses and celebrate Valentine’s Day at the Festival as 14th happens to be the last day to enjoy lip smacking food.

http://www.thehindu.com/life-and-style/Food/dilli-delights/article4397099.ece

M. Vijay Kumar, a street food vendor at Jeedimetla, showing his culinary skills to Sustainable Hyderabad Project representatives, Anne Dahman and Suzi Schultz. Photo:K. Ramesh Babu

For those passing by a street food outlet, the wafting aroma of hot Manchurian is hard to ignore. But more than the that, it is the cleanliness of the ‘bandi’ that attracts the customers these days, M. Vijay Kumar, a food vendor on Jeedimetla main road points out.

“Ever since I changed my old open top ‘bandi’ with a partially closed stainless steel structure, there is an increase in my sales,” Kumar recounts, adding that on an average his venture is fetching him Rs. 800 to Rs. 1,000 more each day.

A veteran with more than 12 years of experience, opportunity knocked on Kumar’s ‘bandi’, rather suddenly. It was his mouth-watering Manchurian, served with fresh lemon and onion slices, that attracted the attention of Anne Dahmen and Susi Scultz, members of Sustainable Hyderabad Project.

Subsequently, Kumar underwent a six-day-long intensive training programme conducted by ‘Arogya’, an initiative of Dr. Reddy’s Foundation. Later, he trained about 20 street food vendors specialising in his ‘sector’ that is, ‘Chinese’ food items in Jeedimetla area and because of this active involvement, he also got his new workstation at a subsidised price.

“During the training I learnt the importance of maintaining hygiene — both personal as well as in the cooking process. But I also realised that it is easy to maintain hygiene by taking small measures,” he says.

Affordability is the main reason that attracts people to street food vendors, but many are suspicious of the hygiene. If customers are assured of better food at affordable rates and are served in hygienic conditions they will patronise the outlets more willingly, he observes.

Kumar claims that this aspect is also being appreciated by the people who were trained by him. “Contrary to the assumption, most food vendors are not averse to maintain hygienic conditions. They only lack awareness and will be happy to follow the guidelines if they are given training and some support, like giving subsidies to buy better workstations,” he maintains.

While Kumar is happy with his new set-up, he is also beset with many uncertainties. “In our profession we are often dependent on the mercy of other people.

Apart from the police, GHMC officials and health inspectors, we also have to be in good terms with the shop owners so that they will let us run our business in front of their shops,” he points out.

There are some professional hazards too, Kumar points out.

“As we stand on roadsides during peak traffic hours, we are constantly exposed to the dust and pollution. When we are cooking in partially enclosed workstations, we also have to inhale the fumes produced during cooking as there is no proper ventilation,” he explains.

Apart from these street food vendors also have to stand for more than eight hours without a break due to which they develop pain in ankles, knees and waist. “Most nights we just pop in a pain killer and go to sleep and next day the same thing repeats all over again,” he says.

http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Hyderabad/the-rewards-of-cleanliness/article4361159.ece

In our society, cooking has been the traditional forte of women and this can be used to as a tool for their economic upliftment, V. Usha Rani, Director of Sannihita, Center for Women, Girl and Children Society says.

If street food vending is legalised and brought into mainstream, this sector can be a source of sustenance for socially backward women, she observes.

To create this awareness, both among officials and women street food vendors, Sannihita, in collaboration with Sustainable Hyderabad Project (SHP), has come up with a new initiative – Jeevanpath.

“Street food vending can be used to create livelihood security for marginalised women in the city. But to achieve this there has to be better policy initiatives,” Ms. Rani says.

Though men stand at street food outlets, women play a major role in processing raw materials and preparing basic ingredients, if this role is formally accepted and encouraged, their potentiality can be fully tapped, Ms. Rani observes.

To achieve this goal there is a need to provide legal recognition to street food vending and to bring it under the fold of Self-Help Groups (SHGs), she explains. By legalising the profession the day-to-day threat that these vendors face from enforcement authorities can be tackled and along with it they can also apply for financial support, she points out.

Officials should also provide designated places for these vendors to operate along with providing facilities like proper storage facilities, she maintains.

“Unlike formal hotel and restaurant businesses, street food vending needs very less investment but has a huge potential,” she says. There are a total of 1.5 lakh street vendors in the State and by rejuvenating this sector, one can bring about a cascading effect in the lives of these many families, she adds.

To highlight these aspects, Sannihita and SHP organised a two-day seminar in first week of January in which women street food vendors from across the State participated.

http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Hyderabad/street-food-as-a-tool-of-womens-empowerment/article4364849.ece

credit :The Hindu
Street food joints cater to a majority of people in the city and if these outlets are removed the cost that one has to bear and the effort that one has to put in scouting for affordable food would be huge. Photo: K. Ramesh Babu

Most family outings in the city usually end up on a rendezvous with roadside stalls either for a ‘chat-pata chaat’ or a quick delicious snack. Indeed, the city is famous for its culinary dishes and street food vendors play a major role in the city’s eco-system.

In spite of this role of catering to many people on a daily basis, the street food vendors are the most neglected lot in the city, Anne Dahmen, coordinator for Sustainable Hyderabad Project (SHP) observes. Anne, a German research scholar, has been working on the problems and issues faced by the street vendors in Hyderabad since 2009.

Street vendors have a very peculiar condition in the city, Anne points out. “Street food joints cater to a majority of people in the city and if these outlets are removed, the cost that one has to bear and the effort that one has to put in scouting for affordable food would be huge,” she points out.

Unlike restaurants, where people go to eat, street food vendors identify a place where there is an unfulfilled demand and open their stall, hence these entrepreneurs are very important for the city, she explains.

SUSPECT QUALITY

Some people are suspicious of the quality of food that these food vendors provide, while others, particularly government officials, view them nothing less than a nuisance in the public space. This, Anne says, is because of lack of legal sanction for this profession.

“From the moment a person starts a street food counter he has to face many troubles and one of the most important problems he faces is lack of knowledge about the policy provisions available for them along with the legal issues they have to follow,” she says.

On one hand, street food vendors face the threat of eviction on a daily basis because of a lack of legal recognition to their profession. On the other, vendors are also not aware of following legal requirements like Food Safety and Standards Act 2006, she explains.

“When compared to smaller hotels and restaurants, street food is safer as the customers can see the process of food preparation. With proper training, street food can be a source of sustenance for many families in the city,” she says.

As a pilot project, SHP, in collaboration with Dr. Reddy’s Foundation, trained four street vendors from four categories of street food – Chaat, ‘mirchi’ based snacks, Chinese fast food and ‘tiffins’. They in turn trained about 80 vendors in their own categories.

According to M. Vijay Kumar, one of the initial four food vendors who were trained under the ‘Aarogya’ scheme, his sales have gone up by an average of Rs. 800 to Rs. 1,000 per day after he implemented the training lessons.

“There are about 18,000 street food vendors in the city and if these results can be replicated for all these vendors, the economic benefit accruing to these many families will be phenomenal,” Anne explains.

To achieve this objective, there is a need to change the way street food vending is viewed among the people, she says. “Currently officials view the issue more as a regulatory problem, whereas to improve the sector there is a need for them to make the process more participatory,” she adds.

I’m finally coming to terms with something I’ve always suspected about myself: my favourite food in the world is chaat. Give me caviar, give me white truffles and give me the greatest hits of Heston Blumenthal and Ferran Adrià, and I’ll probably be diverted for a while.. But after a brief  flirtation, I will return to my first love: chaat.

This was brought home to me last week when I attended a glamourous private party in Bombay catered by Marut Sikka. Most of us know Marut as a TV chef and a restaurateur but I suspect that his real income comes from private parties. Marut’s skill lies not just in the excellent north Indian food that his own team of chefs can be depended upon to turn out but in his ability to source the best chefs and dishes from around the world.

At this party, for instance, the food was truly spectacular and the highlight should have been the dishes created by chefs from Le Calandre, the celebrated Italian restaurant (three Michelin stars and a regular spot on those slightly silly lists of the world’s greatest restaurants). And yes, the Italian food was amazing.

But it was not my favourite cuisine on the menu. Even as waiters circulated with outstanding Lebanese, Gujarati and north Indian dishes, and the Calandre team showered white truffles on their risotto, I huddled at the bar with two friends and ordered plate after plate of the chaat.

What made the chaat so outstanding that it was unlike the sort of thing we normally see in Delhi or Bombay. Marut had found a third-generation chaatwallah from the Kesari Chaat Stall in Benaras (it is located near the Dus Ashwamedh Ghat on the Ganga) and had persuaded him to come to Bombay and to serve his entire menu at the party.

One of my friends is a TV big-shot who prides himself on his foodie skills (though he has a misplaced admiration for his local Bihari cuisine and little understanding of the complexities of Gujarati food!) and even he and his wife were stunned by the quality of the chaat. The secret of good chaat, he said, is that UP has the best chaat in India but that it does not come from Lucknow as is commonly supposed but from Benaras. The thing about the people of Benaras, he added, is that they are naturally shy and reluctant to leave their city and show off their skills to the world.

The crunch effect The Gujaratis took the principles of UP chaat (something fried, lots of crispy things for texture, chutneys, dahi, potatoes, etc) and created new dishes. The most famous of these is bhel puri

I was too busy polishing off the chaat to think very deeply about what my friend said. I concentrated instead on a delicious palak papdi chaat, freshly made so that the fried palak was still crisp and brittle. A tomato chaat was made from tomatoes that had clearly been simmered for hours. A kachori chaat had lots of delicious, crunchy little kachoris, dressed with dahi and chutney. A tokri chaat comprised little baskets of fried potatoes. The rui dahi bhalla consisted of bhallas so light that they reminded you of fluffy balls of cotton. And on and on it went as I demolished the entire Kesari Chaat menu.

The next morning, I thought back to the conversation about Benaras vs Lucknow and began to wonder if my friend had been right about UP being the centre of the chaat world. I’ve been to Lucknow several times and though chefs keep trying to force pulaos and curries on me, I stick to the chaat. (I am fortunate in that I have two good friends in Lucknow – Sharat Pradhan and Sunita Aron, among the city’s most celebrated journalists – who are dedicated chaat lovers and know all the best places.)

On the other hand, I’ve only been to Benaras on a foodie trip once to shoot for my A Matter Of Taste show and my lasting memory of that trip remains the Malayon, the ethereal early-morning dessert about which I have often written. I thought back to that trip. Had the chaat really been outstanding? Well, actually, it had but because the focus on the show was milk desserts we had concentrated on Malayon.

I phoned Marut and asked him what he thought. He agreed that UP was the centre of the chaat world. But he thought that, within UP, there were many chaat traditions. He gave me the example of what we call paani-puri in Bombay. In Lucknow and Kanpur, they use the term ‘batasha’ or possibly, ‘gol-gappa’. In Benaras, on the other hand, they call it a puchhka and the taste of the paani is subtly different from the Lucknow version.

Marut thinks that there are strong foodie links between Benaras and Calcutta, which is why the term ‘puchhka’ is used in Bengal as well. He reckons that perhaps chaatwallahs from the Benaras region moved to Calcutta and seeded the city’s flourishing chaat scene.
He may be right. The more I thought about it the more chaat seemed to be a UP thing. The Calcutta tradition is essentially a morphing of Benarasi recipes to suit the city’s Bengali and Marwari clientele. This is why Calcutta’s puchhkas are tarter than the Benaras version. In Delhi, on the other hand, the chaatwallahs probably came from Lucknow and Kanpur and gave the city its own gol-gappa, which I regret to say, is easily the least interesting example of the genre.

Neither Marut nor I could work out which part of UP Bombay’s chaatwallahs originally came from. We know for certain that chaat was transported to Bombay by UP Brahmins, most of whom used the surname Sharma. (Take a poll of the chaatwallahs at Chowpatty and Juhu. You will find that most of the long-established ones are still called Sharma.)

Masala patties Ragda pattice is a Gujarati adaptation of that north Indian standby, tikki with channa

It is a tribute to Bombay’s culinary genius that the UP chaat tradition was able to successfully mate with the Gujarati snack/farsan tradition so that a new chaat culture was born. The Gujaratis took the principles of UP chaat (something fried, lots of crispy things for texture, chutneys, dahi, potatoes, etc.) and created new dishes. The most famous of these is bhel puri but there are many others.

The Bombay dahi batata puri has its roots in UP chaat but is very much an individual dish in its own right. Ragda pattice is a Gujarati adaptation of that north Indian standby, tikki with channa. And Marut reckons that Bombay’s pani-puri, which is the local variant of the gol-gappa/puchhka/batasha chaat is probably the best expression of this dish. (I love Bombay but here I disagree with Marut: my money is on the Calcutta  puchhka.)

The more Marut and I talked about it, the more convinced we became that we could trace nearly all genuine chaat dishes to waves of migration from UP. This explains why it is so difficult to find a chaat tradition south of Bombay: the UPites did not venture further down the Peninsula.

It is funny, though, that at a time when every state is doing so much to put its cuisine on the map, UP takes so little credit for being the home of chaat. Kerala may brag about its spices, Goa may trumpet the virtues of vindaloo and so on, but UP seems to have surrendered all claims to chaat, which is now seen as a pan-Indian favourite rather than a regional cuisine.

The public image of the food of UP leads only to the Awadhi haute cuisine of Lucknow and to pots of steaming biryani or animal fat kebabs. I love Lucknawi food as much as the next man but I doubt if it has been as influential or as popular as chaat. And yet, the chaat geniuses of Benaras, Lucknow, Kanpur and other UP towns get almost no recognition at all. Their wonderful tradition is disparaged as being ‘mere street food’.

But India lives and eats on its streets. And that night as I turned away all the fancy food that Marut and the Michelin-starred chefs had cooked and stuck to the Benaras chaat, I pondered the injustice. In America, they celebrate the hamburger and the hotdog; pizza is Italy’s global calling card; and Britain is known for fish and chips. So why, oh why, do we in India not give chaat the respect it deserves? Why is it without honour even in its home state?

I say this not just because chaat is my favourite food. I’m sure that millions of other Indians are also crazy about chaat. So, for once, let’s give haute cuisine a rest and stand up for what we really love: the cuisine of the Indian street.

http://www.hindustantimes.com/Brunch/Brunch-Stories/Rude-Food-the-cuisine-of-the-street/Article1-988724.aspx

Hot and yum: Dishes available at Soi Thai in New Delhi

When it comes to street food, Delhi would most probably leave any region of India behind. However, already creating more than a ripple on the world cuisine map for street food is Thailand. And now, the good news is, Delhiites have a small window to the street food of that country, thanks to a dedicated restaurant for it. Appropriately named Soi Thai, (Soi means street in Thai language), it is at Basant Lok Market, bang opposite PVR cinema, Vasant Vihar.

The ambience of Soi Thai is pretty homely and no-fuss, almost like eateries manned by friendly women on the neat and clean streets of Bangkok. Shinjini Kapoor, the promoter of Soi Thai, lived in Thailand with her husband for some time and fell in love with the cuisine. She took cooking classes and returned to India with much passion to open a Thai restaurant. She began with home delivery of food in Delhi before starting Soi Thai at the posh colony market. The restaurant, besides having a lot of options for non-vegetarians, also has an extensive menu for vegetarians. Chef Rakesh Pal asks me to start with the authentic Tom Kha soup. To understand the taste of Thai cuisine, it is the most common dish to try out. Having staple Thai ingredients like lemon grass and coconut milk, the soup is adequately tangy. Next before me is a glass noodle salad. I always love the mixture of sweet and spicy dressings in Thai salads. This one is no different.

In appetisers, Chef Rakesh serves me some batter-fried prawns and chicken satay with the traditional peanut sauce. Prawns are crisp, topped with stir-fried veggies. I like its seasoning very much. The chicken satay is a bit dry for me. Though dipped in peanut sauce, it tastes fine.

In main course, I opt for pad Thai noodles, a must-have for me in that cuisine. Chef Rakesh makes it yummy, serves it topped with roasted peanuts. I also like yet another dish, mee krob latnaa, basically deep-fried yellow noodles topped with a mixed vegetable gravy.

Then there is mixed vegetables with a spicy sauce and basil, served with steamed rice — tasty. I though feel that a bit of lemon grass flavour could have been suppressed.

My meal at Soi Thai ends with crispy honey noodles served with ice cream. Chef Rakesh tweaks the original recipe and dips the noodles in molten jaggery. It definitely adds an interesting flavour. Meal for two Rs. 1000

http://www.thehindu.com/life-and-style/Food/roadside-relish/article4298517.ece

Food lovers seen enjoying food items at Street Food Festival organised by Association of Street Vendors of India (NASVI) at Constitution Club Annexe , in New Delhi, on Saturday. Photo: Sushil Kumar Verma

The second day of the ongoing “Street Food Festival” at the Constitution Club here saw a huge turnout of food lovers on Saturday.

Making the most of the weekend, a large number of people kept thronging the makeshift venue all day long. On offer were an assortment of dishes from Delhi, West Bengal, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and other States.

The three-day festival has been organised by the National Association of Street Vendors of India.

Describing street food as the best in the world, Union Tourism Secretary Parvez Dewan said India has the potential in this kind of food but the country lags behind Thailand and other East Asian countries.

A five-member delegation from Singapore Tourism is monitoring the way the festival is being organised.

According to NASVI’s programme manager Ranjit Abhigyan, the second day saw over 25,000 footfalls. “Ten thousand food lovers came on the first day. The festival’s basic objective is to demonstrate the cooking skills of street vendors. They are second to none when it comes to knowledge about what constitutes delicious and healthy food. We also wanted to dispel the misconception among the middle class and policymakers that street food is unhygienic and unhealthy.”

In future, NASVI will collaborate with Delhi Tourism and Transportation Development Corporation to host such festivals in the city.

http://www.thehindu.com/news/cities/Delhi/celebrating-street-food-of-india/article4206138.ece

People have been eating food off plates made out of vaccination cards

There’s more on the paper plate that holds a spicy samosa or a sumptuous sandwich that a Delhi street-food vendor or a hospital canteen serve.

These plates were made from hard-paper immunisation cards that every government hospital was supposed to provide to parents of newborns for monitoring their vaccination schedules.

The Union health ministry prints every month lakhs of such cards so that vaccination of children – till they reach the age of five – for diseases such as cholera, polio, tetanus and others could be recorded.

The vaccination cards are printed by the Government to be distributed in hospitals

Instead of being supplied to the government hospitals across the country, these cards have landed in the Capital’s scrap market.

These were then sold on the cheap to people making paper plates.

These cards then land in tea shops and street-food vends, mostly in the old Delhi area, in the form of highly-durable plates.

‘I bought these plates from the Malka Ganj area to serve samosas and sandwiches. These are cheap and hard.

‘These don’t break or crumple when we put a hot, oily samosa on it along with the chutney,’ tea and snacks seller Ram Dayal said.

These plates find their way to the canteens of Aruna Asaf Ali Hospital and Hindu Rao Hospital, too.

‘I have no idea about the source of the plates. I bought them from a supplier,’ the person manning the canteen at Aruna Asaf Ali Hospital said.

A scrap dealer in the Malka Ganj area said he wouldn’t be able to identify the people who sold the cards.

‘I found these in the wastepaper bundles. For me it’s just scrap. I buy and sell them to people who make envelopes and paper plates,’ scrap-seller Ambrish Kumar said.

A rudimentary calculation would be enough to gauge the enormity of the wastage.

Here’s a hypothetical calculation: If each card costs Rs5 per card to make, the government is spending Rs5 lakh of taxpayers’ money for a bunch of 100,000.

These cards were supplied to Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) and New Delhi Municipal Council (NDMC) hospitals as well.

But neither the hospital authorities nor the government were aware of these vaccination cards landing in the scrap market.

‘We didn’t know that. This is serious and should be investigated. We will definitely ask the police to find the guilty people.

‘They should be caught and punished,’ Dr V.K. Monga, chairman of the MCD’s health committee, said.

‘Government stationary cannot be wasted. Government money is hard-earned money and it is answerable for each and every rupee spent on projects and schemes,’ he added.