Telangana, Andhra Pradesh told to check adulteration

DECCAN CHRONICLE | S. A. ISHAQUI

Published Aug 20, 2015, 8:25 am IST

Updated Jan 10, 2016, 8:38 am IST

States must list steps to stop the use of carbide

 Representative image (Photo: DC)

Hyderabad: A division bench comprising acting Chief Justice Dilip B. Bhosale and Justice S.V. Bhatt of the Hyderabad HC on Wednesday said that food adulterators were more dangerous than terrorists. Dealing with a taken up case seeking to prevent the use of chemicals for ripening fruits, they said that while terrorists killed innocent people at one go using firearms, adulterators are killing people slowly by injecting poison into their bodies.

Adjourning the case for two weeks, the bench directed both states and the Centre to file affidavits within two weeks explaining the steps being taken to prevent the use of chemicals to ripen fruits and inspection reports.

On August 14 the bench had directed the Andhra Pradesh and Telangana state governments to conduct surprise checks in the fruit markets of both states, collect samples, send them for lab testing and submit reports on August 19.

When the case come up for hearing the Andhra Pradesh government submitted that it has not found carbide ripened fruits in Andhra Pradesh, but the Telangana government confirmed the use of calcium carbide to ripen fruits in Hyderabad city.

TS special counsel A. Sanjeev Kumar submitted that the authorities had seized the carbide, sealed shops and had sent the fruits to labs for verifying the impact of chemicals.

Senior counsel P. Gangaiah Naidu, who appeared for fruit traders, said that officials inspected only nine shops out of 90 at the Gaddi Annaram fruit market in the city and there were no fruits in the sealed shops.

Defending the traders he said that fruits are perishable and there is no other way to ripen them.

The bench said, “Traders can sell raw mangoes and leave the job of ripening to consumers. The only way is to allow fruits to ripen naturally.”