Mysuru:  Relentless rain that the city has been experiencing since the past four days has not only brought normal life to a standstill but it has forced footpath hotels and chat shops to close business.

However, with the sun peeping out this morning, a few of them started operations from as early as 6.30 am. 

The footpath or street food is something that caters to a large section of the population that includes daily wagers, factory workers, single men and women living in hostels, students and even working couples, who depend on this cheap, hot instant food.

People throng to such small makeshift places that serve food in food carts, with just a tarpaulin cover to protect them from rain and shine. The usual menu consists of dosas, idlis, vadas, pooris, chapathis, rice bath not to forget the mouth watering chat items like masala and pani puris, gobi manchuri and the list is endless.

There are hotels on the road which start at 6.30 in the morning and close only at 11.30 in the night and they serve breakfast, lunch, snacks and dinner all at affordable costs. 

However, due to heavy rains in the last four days, most of the footpath shops, whose livelihood depends on selling street food, had remained closed for two reasons — one is the lack of customers and second, the fear of food going waste as they are all perishable items. 

The places where the street food is sold includes near the Deputy Commissioner’s Office, Narayan Shastry Road and surrounding areas, in Nazarbad near Mini Vidhana Soudha, Jayadeva Heart Hospital and ESI Hospital on KRS Road, Mathru Mandali Circle, Hebbal Industrial Area near Indira Nursing Home, near Vidya Vardhaka College of Engineering, near Lalitha Mahal Palace Hotel, Rajkumar Circle, Sangam Circle in Vijayanagar 3rd Stage, near Bogadi Road to name a few.

With the rains receding, the hotels are slowly springing back to life and the customers have once again started frequenting these roadside eateries.