Hyderabad, March.7 : One famous Telugu poet had said long back that a match stick, a cake of soap, a puppy and nothing is ineligible to be the subject matter of poetry. In the present day scenario, this can be applied to adulteration –nothing is free from this worst type evil which is playing with the lives of the people, including children and women.
Reports are appearing in the media, frequently since long years about raids by officials and detecting the scourge of adulteration of milk, baby foods, almost all types of food stuffs, vegetables, fruits and even drugs. Whenever such reports appear, the Government (Ministers and Chief Minister) hurls warnings to the manufacturers and dealers of such adulterated items about stern action, cancellation of license, etc. In some cases, some sort of action is taken against the culprits, but such action is not deterring neither the manufacturers nor the dealers, and the game goes on uninterrupted, even while the medical experts are repeatedly warning about the ill-effects of adulteration and the health hazards involved.
Recently, the Minster for Health and Medical Dr C Lakshma Reddy has warned that those who indulge in adulteration of food stuffs would not be tolerated at all, their licences would be cancelled and Preventive Detention (PD) Act would be invoked against the culprits; and the dealers, eating establishment owners should be held responsible for supply of unadulterated food stuffs to the citizens. The Minister, who is a Doctor, said that adulteration of food stuffs is causing serious ailments like cancer, kidney and liver diseases. People will be very happy if the Minister (Government) really takes the matter very seriously and acts tough against the defaulters, to stop the evil and save the people from diseases.
It may be pointed out, however, that adulteration of food stuffs and medicines is going on for several years now and both the Telugu States of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh have failed to curb the evil with an iron hand, in spite of repeated high-sounding warnings and threats. This journalist vaguely remembers a grandiose threat hurled by the Health Minister of the united Andhra Pradesh (K Rajamallu, if my memory is correct) some four decades ago in the State Legislature that, given to himself, he would like to hang drug adulterators to the nearest lamp post, and hit the headlines. Unfortunately enough, no such action is seen till now, and not even deterrent Laws were made to stop the social evil of adulteration.
People in general and medical professionals in particular feel there is urgent need to stop adulteration of food stuffs and drugs enacting a Law providing for highly deterrent by punishment for the culprits, appointment of adequate staff in the departments empowered with enforcement of the laws relating to food safety and also to provide a mechanism to prevent collusion of officials with adulterators. It is said that already States like Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Odisha have enacted stringent Laws providing for deterrent punishments including life imprisonment, very high fines for adulteration of food stuffs and drugs. Both the Telugu States would do well to enact such Laws and enforce them strictly to save the people from health hazards. (NSS)
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