Social-media sensation ‘Kumari Aunty’, the street food vendor from Andhra Pradesh, has prevailed after a video posted by a foodie went viral. In the video, the woman was seen shouting the bill – with two extra liver pieces, your bill is ₹1,000.
In a day of swift developments, her shop was removed by traffic cops, triggering an uproar on social media, with people flaying the police for upsetting her apple cart. Some even criticised the Revanth Reddy government for not letting the hapless woman carry on her business.
Chief Minister A Revanth Reddy responded quickly and directed the Director General of Police and Cyberabad Commissioner to allow her to continue with her business.
“We are not here to create hurdles for small time businesses,” he said, ending a day-long social media trial. After the short video went viral, Kumari Aunty’s roadside hotel became an instant rage, with foodies in the vicinity and other parts of the city thronging her shop near InOrbit. Memes followed, too, with people making fun of the ‘exorbitant menu’, saying that she is minting money.
Denying all the claims made in the Insta Reels and YouTube Shorts on the pricing part, she says the rate card at her hotel is reasonable. Referring to the original video on the ₹1,000 bill, she said the bill touched ₹1,000 after the customer ordered two liver pieces.
Online attack
YouTubers and food vloggers mobbed her, asking her a variety of questions, including on the pricing part. While taking orders and delivering bills orally with aplomb, she would take all questions and give short and crisp answers. All that she had toiled for came crashing down in a matter of 24 hours after the traffic police asked her to wind up her business, citing traffic hold-ups caused by her shop.
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“We don’t mind allowing streetside shops as long as they don’t pose any traffic problems. Since her shop has become a problem for traffic we will not allow,” said a traffic inspector. She blamed the media for the unnecessary attention that led to the closure of her shop.