Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation found 41 unregistered food stalls during inspections at 15 Garba venues on the first night of Navratri, but did not seal them despite earlier warning that stalls without valid licences would face closure. The civic body instead completed the vendors’ registration procedures on the spot, according to a report by the Times of India.
The AMC health and food department inspected 148 stalls across the city. Of these, 107 had valid food licences or registrations, while notices were issued to the remaining 41 vendors. The inspections were conducted at major Garba venues, including Raas Leela Navratri, Maniyaro Garbo and Vibrant Navratri in Gota; Cultural Sheri Garba in Chandlodiya; Adyashakti Garba in Ghatlodiya; the tourism department’s Garba in Vastrapur; Karnavati’s Garba in Ramol; Kesariya Taal Garba in Vastral; and Khodaldham Garba in Nikol, among others.
The inspections also covered food quality and safety. AMC officials collected 35 food samples and tested them on site. The samples met the prescribed safety standards, and no punitive action was taken in connection with those tests, the report said.
The inspection pattern was concentrated in parts of the city. Eighty-one stalls at nine venues were inspected in the North West Zone, five venues were covered in the East Zone, and one venue was inspected in the West Zone. The report did not provide a zone-wise breakdown of the 41 stalls that lacked licences or registrations.
The action followed a special inspection drive announced by AMC on October 3. The drive was intended to cover Garba venues, housing societies and party plots, with checks on food licences, hygiene, food quality and storage practices. AMC had also asked event organisers to allot stalls only to vendors holding valid Food Safety and Standards Authority of India licences or registrations.
The civic body had warned that unlicensed stalls would be sealed. However, the first night’s inspection resulted in on-the-spot registration rather than sealing. This leaves a clear distinction between the municipal corporation’s stated enforcement position and the remedy used during the inspection: vendors were brought into the registration process instead of being removed from the venues.
The immediate public-health finding from the reported inspections was that all 35 tested samples met the prescribed safety standards. The licensing finding was different, with 41 of the 148 inspected stalls initially operating without valid documentation. Licensing and food-safety testing therefore produced separate outcomes during the same inspection exercise.
AMC said inspections would continue at other Garba venues over the following days. The continuing drive is expected to cover licensing, hygiene, food quality and storage practices as the city’s festival venues remain operational.
