FDA Chief Tukaram Mundhe Shuts Down Food Counters At Mumbai’s R City Mall INOX: Report

Tukaram Mundhe, the commissioner of Maharashtra’s Food and Drug Administration (FDA), along with his team, has cracked down on several restaurants over alleged violations of food safety and hygiene norms. Now, it looks like the crackdown has reached the doors of one of Mumbai’s most prominent multiplexes.

As per a report, theFDA shut down the food counters at INOX R City Mall for five days. According to information shared with Bollywood Hungama, a source said, “The team of FDA recently visited the INOX multiplex situated in R City Mall in Ghatkopar, Mumbai. Due to non-compliance with certain rules, the food and beverage area of the multiplex was sealed.”

“As a result, in a rare instance, the multiplex continued functioning but without the option

of selling snacks and beverages to patrons,” the source further added. The report claimed that, owing to this situation, the management team of the multiplex allowed patrons to carry outside food, something that theatres usually restrict.

A source further added, “The F&B area of INOX R City Mall was sealed on October 9. It was only on October 13 that the theatre was once again allowed to sell food items.” Meanwhile, the exact violation and reason behind the shutdown of the food counters remain unknown.

Who Is Tukaram Mundhe?

Tukaram Mundhe belongs to a destitute family in Beed, Maharashtra. According to Mundhe, he grew up witnessing the government’s failures in delivering on its welfare promises, The Hindu reported.

He used to sell vegetables alongside his parents at the weekly market. Growing up in a mud (or kachcha) house, he saw his family clinging to the hope of the monsoon and facing the persistent scarcity of water.

Mundhe walked barefoot to the local Zilla Parishad school. Seeing his family bear the brunt of administrative failures, he decided to join the civil services with one motive in mind: to enter the system not to belong to it, but to change it.

With no coaching and no resources, Mundhe succeeded in the Union Public Service Commission (UPSC) examination in 2005 with an impressive All India Rank (AIR) of 20. Subsequently, he was allotted the Maharashtra cadre. Mundhe pursued his bachelor’s degree at Government College of Arts and Science in Aurangabad (now Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar) in 1996.