Van sales of jail food plummet after relocation

Thiruvananthapuram: A recent relocation of a mobile eatery at the Medical College Hospital has been blamed for the drastic fall in its food sales. Ever since the outlet which sold food prepared by the inmates of the city’s prison was relocated to inside the hospital campus from near its gate last month, the daily sales turnover has dropped to Rs 60,000 from Rs 90,000 to Rs 1.10 lakh a day, said people running it.

Currently, the counter functions opposite the SAT Hospital. The jail authorities have now requested the installation of the counter back at its earlier slot from where it was shunted out in October. Sales in front of the premises have its advantage like no other, they noted.

Selling chiefly items like chappati, chicken curry, chilli chicken, liver roast and egg curries, the eatery has been popular also for its reasonable rates: five chappatis with chicken curry sold for Rs 30. The price is only Rs 22 if egg curry is the accompaniment. (The same items sell for about Rs 60 anywhere in the vicinity.) A litre’s bottled water sells for Rs 10.

Earlier customers used to total between 1,500 and 2,000 a day, with chappati-chicken curry and bottled water topping the sales, according to authorities. This when various charity and non-profit organisations serve free lunch near the emergency wing of the medical college hospital.

The authorities alleged a conspiracy behind the shifting of the eatery. The officials claimed that the transfer was to meant to declutter the front area of the medical college premises, but the jail authorities are not convinced. They doubted the relocation could be because several other businesses, including restaurants, exist in the vicinity of the early spot of the mobile eatery. That area is vacant for the most time, except between 12 pm and 2.30 pm, and has space for the jail food van to park. Yet, checking its operation seems to have ulterior motives, they added.

The hospital authorities denied the allegations, though they charged that the front of the hospital used to be littered with waste when the mobile outlet used to function at the gateway. If the sales were comparatively high earlier, the reason could be that bywalkers too used to buy the food. Now that may have come down, the authorities guessed, adding that it’s not the hospital’s responsibility to boost or steady the sale of the jail-food unit.