Public Health Inspectors (PHIs) have identified 148 Vesak dansals operating in breach of health and safety guidelines during a special island-wide inspection programme conducted over the past three days.
A total of 17,761 dansals were inspected between May 29 and May 31 as part of food safety and public health checks during the Vesak festival, the authorities said.
The inspections found a range of shortcomings at the 148 flagged stalls, including failures to adhere to recommended health and hygiene standards.
Officials, however, did not order any closures, citing public inconvenience during the Vesak observances. Organisers of the affected dansals were instead instructed to immediately rectify the identified deficiencies, after which they were permitted to continue operations.
Health officials said the special inspections will continue in the coming days as Vesak zones, dansals and other festival-related events remain active across the country.
The drive follows the PHIs’ pre-Vesak registration programme which began through MOH offices in early May, and complements the Central Environmental Authority’s warning against plastic and polythene at dansals. The crackdown also runs alongside the state-institutions plastic water bottle ban introduced ahead of the holiday weekend.
Vesak Poya falls on May 31 this year, with the public holiday gazetted and Colombo’s Vesak traffic plan covering nine police divisions through early June.
