Street food is an integral part of India's culinary culture, but hygiene remains one of the biggest concerns for many consumers. A video that is currently circulating on social media has once again brought the issue into focus. The clip, which has so far gained over 1 million views on Instagram, allegedly shows a shikanji (lemonade) vendor filling water from a public toilet in Uttar Pradesh before using it to prepare the drink.
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According to claims accompanying the viral clip, the incident allegedly took place near the Lucknow Municipal Corporation's public toilet on Station Road, close to Charbagh railway station. The video appears to show a man filling a container with water from a tap inside or adjacent to a public toilet facility.
In the next few moments, the same person is seen returning to his roadside stall and using the water while preparing shikanji for customers.
Watch the full video below:
Several social media users reacted to the video and tagged UP Police and FSSAI to take action on the viral video.
One user wrote, "That's the only reason I always avoided railway station food and tea"
Another user wrote, "This guy has made me repulsed by Shikanji for life"
"This is not a laughing matter, it is a very serious issue here, people's health is being messed with, please take notice of this @lkopolice," commented a third user.
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"It's getting very hard to believe anyone out there. That's the reason home food is a good food," wrote another user.
As of now, NDTV could not independently verify the authenticity of the video, the identity of the vendor, or whether the incident indeed took place near Charbagh railway station in Lucknow. There has also been no official statement from the concerned authorities regarding the viral clip at the time of writing.
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