Vijayawada: Despite municipal orders to avoid meat consumption amid the diarrhoea outbreak in New RR Peta, residents flocked to meat markets in neighbouring areas on Sunday. The Vijayawada Municipal Corporation (VMC) had ordered the temporary closure of all meat shops in the affected colony, but enforcement gaps allowed residents to travel to Ajith Singh Nagar, Nunna, and other localities to purchase chicken and fish — Sunday staples for many households.While nine chicken shops and one beef outlet were shut in New RR Peta, TOI observed that all meat shops, restaurants, curry points, tea stalls, and tiffin centres within a 1.5-kilometre radius were closed. However, residents from unaffected streets continued their weekly non-vegetarian routines by sourcing meat from outside.“Not just me but many from our street have visited the meat markets in Ajith Singh Nagar to buy fish, mutton, and chicken. Our families are not affected by any diarrhoea, and we only eat non-vegetarian food on Sundays,” said Srinivas, a resident of New RR Peta.In contrast, affected families opted for bland diets. “Our children are recovering from diarrhoea… it is better for us to avoid eating chicken for another one or two weeks,” said Rama Lakshmi, another resident.“There are clear instructions from the district collector to close down all fruit juice stalls, non-veg stalls, restaurants, and other food-selling establishments until further notice,” said B. Srinivas, assistant food controller for NTR and Krishna districts. On Sunday, food safety teams registered a case against a chicken pakodi stall for selling stale meat and seized a biryani centre that violated closure orders on AS Nagar and New RR Peta main road.
