Mahfuz AdnanChemically treated fruits, both local and imported, continue to flood the markets of the Sylhet city and rest of the district, in absence of strong anti-adulteration drives of the government.The chemically ripened fruits are openly sold both at the permanent shops in different markets and by the mobile vendors on the roads in the city, all over the district and even outside.
Many fruit wholesalers in the city confessed to putting formalin on the fruits that had been ripened with calcium carbide.
Among the Fajli variety of mangoes is the most chemically treated fruit while apples, oranges, grapes and dates undergo the process more than other imported varieties.
Despite the media and public outcry ripening of fruits particularly mangoes and bananas with calcium carbide, a highly hazardous chemical substance, goes on under the nose of the law enforcers, sources said.
They named some other chemicals, marketed as crop-field pesticides by their manufacturers, which were used by the profiteers as ripening agents.
A 10-minute soak of green fruits like mango, banana and papaya in 10 liters of water mixed with 10 milliliters of any of these pesticides is enough to make them ripe in a very short period, several fruit traders in the city said. Different textile dyes are also used to ripen fruits, they said. They do it to prevent the fruits from getting rotted, they said.
Such fruits although look fresh taste sour. Local fruit traders, however, claimed that they had to use formalin because the fruits that were sent from the northern districts and other parts of the country were already ripened with chemicals, which made them prone to rot earlier than expected.
Local watchdogs blamed the government authorities for not giving sufficient efforts for preventing such acts while the latter claimed they did their best.
Social Worker Md. Abul Hussain, President Of Rotaract Club Of Sylhet New city, said they had tried to continued motivational activities among the fruit growers and food manufacturers and traders against adulteration. ‘But as a watch body we don’t have the necessary equipment for detecting adulteration of foods that are going on,’ he admitted.
M. Asif Islam, Preident of Shamajik Poribesh Manobadhikar Bastobayon Sangstha SYlhet district unit said that, a pressure group, demanded setting up of mobile courts on the highways to prevent entry of chemically treated fruits in the Sylhet city.
