Electric Fans in Hawker Centres

As most true-blue Singaporeans should be, I love good food. And all the better when it's served in our affordable hawker centres.

Eating at hawker centres used to be a hot and humid affair given our weather, so it was a relief when relevant authorities started installing fans at strategic locations in our eating places.

However, I soon realised that the industrial-strength fans are blowing at levels that could rival Hurricane Katrina wind-speeds. Of course, I exaggerate here. But the point I'm making is, it is rather difficult for patrons to eat properly. Papers cups are constantly threatening to tip over, tissue packets (which we all love) are leaping off tables, hair plastered to our oily faces and sometimes oily food.

And even if we can put up with that, there is the aftermath. Hawkers are moving to disposable utensils. Styrofoam plates, plastic cutleries, paper cups, wooden chopsticks (and their accompanying plastic wrappers), and many more, are being blown off the tables onto the floors. You can imagine the mess.

While our cleaners are very dutiful, I can understand, during peak hours, it would be almost frustrating to mind not just tables but also floors.

I am wondering, would it be sensible perhaps, to simply turn down the level of power for these fans in question?

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This was first posted on the government's Reach website on 6 Sep 07.