Click to play videoMumbai: Zunka bhakar known as the poor man's snack could disappear from the menus of if the Maharashtra government goes ahead with its plans to shut these eateries serving it.
Zunka bhakar is a roti made of rice flour served with a sabzi made of spicy besan (gram flour) is available for Rs 2 and is a mid-day favourite with the working class ever since the little stalls were set up by the Shiv Sena government to woo the unemployed urban youth like 20-year-old Sucheta Loke.
In spite of her disability, Sucheta single-handedly manages a zunka bhakar stall in Mumbai's Byculla area after she lost her parents in an accident. She stands to lose everything along with 2,000 others if the Congress-led government shuts down 800 such stalls across Maharashtra.
"This is my only source of livelihood. How will I let my brother complete his education,” says Sucheta.
What started in 1995 as part of the Sena's Marathi Manoos agenda, has now become commercial and sells everything says the Congress. But the stall owners say they have sanction to sell other food items.
"It’s not just about zunka bhakar. The government had given us permission to sell other things too,” says President, Zunka Bhakar Association, Umesh Wagle.
Meanwhile, the Shiv-Sena BJP combine is trying to save the situation by offering municipal land to these eateries and retaining the Marathi flavour on Mumbai's roads.
(For updates you can share with your friends, follow IBNLive on Facebook, Twitter and Google+)
displayed with permission. Use of the CNN name and/or logo on or as part of CNN-IBN does not derogate from the intellectual property rights of Cable News Network in respect of them.