State Trading Organization has conditioned a "No Smoking" rule for the new food-court venues being established at the south-west end of Male' - adjacent to the harbor.
Several individuals had called for banning public smoking in these food-courts, which comes as the reason for STO establishing the rule.
An official of STO speaking about the matter said that the reason for prohibiting smoking in these food-courts was to create a safer environment for the families and children visiting the area for enjoyment and service.
"All food-court venues will prohibit smoking in these places based on the recommendation from Health Protection Agency," the STO official said.
A total of 29 interested parties had placed forward their proposals to manage the 27 food-courts established at the west-end harbor area, which now also is close in vicinity to the waste disposal site and industrial zone.
The area had formally housed a total of 40 conventional 'dhaba' styled food hubs servicing an affordable range of food and beverages to the customers. However the new phase in harbor-area food-courts will see the outlet capacity decrease to 27 with a notable increase in sizes of each slot and comparatively cleaner interiors as well as exteriors.
