Raids on unhygienic wayside 'hotels'

The Healthcare and Nutrition Ministry will take action against wayside hotels providing sub-standard sanitary facilities to bus commuters travelling to distant places.

This comes following complaints received by the Ministry that these hotels provide substandard facilities to commuters, especially in routes covering Colombo-Kandy, Colombo-Anuradhapura, Badulla-Ratnapura, Ampara-Moneragala Colombo, Kataragama-Galle Colombo and Kurunegala-Colombo.

Despite these hotels providing special treatment and facilities to bus crew, commuters are reportedly not receiving basic facilities with unhygienic food being served resulting in food poisoning at several occasions, Ministry sources said. Toilet facilities are also very poor at these hotels, the sources said.

Minister Nimal Siripala de Silva taking into consideration these complaints has instructed Acting Secretary Dr. Nihal Jayathilake to take action. The Acting Secretary yesterday issued a special circular to all Public Health Inspectors to take action against the erring hoteliers in their areas. These hotels will be raided by PHIs.