He was not in the habit of serving previous day's food, fine imposed by food safety department not reason for suicide

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The people of Chathanpara miss the tastes of Manikuttan, who committed suicide along with his family. There won’t be anyone who haven’t tasted food from Manikuttan’s wayside eatery. Apart from the locals, passers-by on the national highway are familiar with his eatery. Lalitha, a native of Chathanpara, said that she had been eating from Manikuttan's eatery for more than 20 years. She said that he does not have the habit of serving previous day’s food. The taste of the food makes everyone eat from his shop.

We can see people buying parcel from his shop regularly. Manikuttan and his employees reach the shop around 3 pm. The business starts by serving tea and snacks and after 6 pm, a heavy rush is witnessed. Apart from youngsters, families also come here to have food. After 8 pm, people park their cars on the road and come here to have food.

Puttu, idiyappam, parotta, kappa, chicken fry, chicken curry, omelette, beef and fish fry are the main attractions of the shop. A heavy rush is witnessed even after midnight.

Shamnad, who first saw the body and his wife’s sister Girija are among the eight employees in the shop. People from Tamil Nadu and Assam are among the employees. An employee from Uttar Pradesh had taken leave for his marriage. The employees of the shop were in tears yesterday. They still don't understand what led him to take the drastic step.

The food safety department had conducted raid at Manikuttan's eatery twice recently. The shop was closed on Tuesday after imposing a fine of Rs 5000 for not having a license. Manikuttan was making arrangements to open the shop after paying the fine. He had directed all employees to come to the shop on Saturday. He had bought and kept two sacks of onions and some bananas for the shop. Majority of the local residents said fine imposed is not the reason for the mass suicide.