Kashmiris have a culture of eating out and that is why we see so many eateries not only in Srinagar but all small and big towns of the Valley doing well. However, at times, there are reports regarding some such eateries serving unhygienic and stale foods risking people lives. This is where the role of the government and its agencies vested with the responsibility of keeping an eye on such eateries and other market places and ensuring that unscrupulous people and their practices are kept at bay, comes in. Take for instance the case of food stuffs sold here. Even as it is common place knowledge that adulteration of edibles is a norm here, the agencies vested with the job of taking action against the greedy businesses and people associated, are desperately found wanting both in their will as well as wherewithal to deal with the problem. Once in a while, SMC and Drug and Food Control authorities, and at times even the Consumer Affairs and Public Distribution department officials inform public that their so-called checking squads have raided market-places and procured food samples for lab analyses to check them for adulteration if any. Thereafter, never ever are people informed about any subsequent action, not to mention of anyone being chargesheeted for adulteration! Instead what happens usually is that the food samples taken away from the markets are dumped into the cupboards of the concerned agencies, and the accused are simply given a clean chit. The consequence of all this is that the public’s safety and health stand largely compromised.
With poor masses left to the mercy of greedy adulterers, it doesn’t require an Einstein to think how it compromises their physical well-being. As per the doctors, presence of a simple chemical ‘oxytocin’ – although a banned drug, but which is usually given to cattle to increase their lactation, seeps easily into the human body through milk that people consume. There it could easily translate into hormonal imbalances, resulting in miscarriage among pregnant women, as well as eye and other problems among the newborns. It also leads to certain heart and neurological complications. Here it is not only the oxytocin, but even dangerous detergents and urea have been found in milk samples, and industrial dyes and synthetic colours and a whole lot of other dangerous chemicals have been found in so many other edibles, but no substantive action against the adulterers has come about from the concerned agencies.
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People have a right to know that what action have the authorities taken against the milk companies whose samples as per the official claims were found substandard and contaminated with dangerous chemicals? What action has been taken against those whose spices were found adulterated? What about those using industrial dyes in foods? What action has been taken against restaurants and hotels, bakery shops etc whose kitchens were found unhygienic?
