Kozhikode beach to get modern food street

Visitors to Kozhikode beach will soon be able to enjoy a variety of cuisines in a cleaner, more organised setting as the Kozhikode Corporation gears up to open a modern food street within a month.

The project, implemented jointly by the Food Safety department, National Health Mission, and the Kozhikode Corporation, will introduce specially designed pushcarts, or “banks,” arranged in a uniform style along a 240-metre stretch of the beach.

Work is currently in progress, with the first two model carts already placed at the site. The food street is expected to be ready by September 15.

According to Corporation officials, around 90 food carts will operate from the stretch, each set up on raised platforms with seating areas provided for visitors. “The aim is to ensure people can enjoy their food while listening to the sea and feeling the breeze, in clean and aesthetic surroundings,” said P. C. Rajan, Chairman of the Standing Committee on Public Works.

He added that only vendors included in the Corporation’s approved list would be permitted, while all unauthorised vendors currently operating on the beach would be evacuated.

Declaring the area as a vending zone, officials said the new initiative would replace the stalls that currently dot the beach. “This will not only provide hygienic and safe food but also bring order and beauty to the beach premises,” Mr. Rajan noted.

Water and other facilities would also be provided for vendors, he added.

P. Divakaran, Chairman of the Welfare Committee, said the food street would feature dishes from across the country, with both North Indian and South Indian cuisines on offer. The project also includes special lighting and other amenities to enhance the ambience, he said.

The food street, with 89 authorised vendors expected to begin operations by the end of the month, is part of the Corporation’s broader effort to regulate street vending within its limits while ensuring food hygeine and public health.