Chemical-free fruits
The news item, ‘Step good yet not enough,’ published in your daily on June 9, has attracted our attention. The report said, “The government yesterday launched a drive to check formalin-tainted fish, fruits and vegetables entering the capital, but those contaminated with other chemicals will remain untraced.”
This drive is nothing but a very cruel joke to the people. Had the government been serious, they would have taken definite measures long ago. The government is dillydallying about enforcing the Safe Food Law 2013. Highest punishment as per this law is maximum five years in jail and Tk 5 lac fine, which is not enough. The High Court’s directive to establish one safe food court in every district has been overlooked. Even highly hazardous banned pesticides are used in abundance, and pesticide residue in our agro products is 20 times higher than safe limit. And this anti-formalin drive is limited to the capital city while the whole country is being poisoned.
Poison in very high dose is directly getting into our body. This will also adversely affect our productivity and GDP. Chemical terror has gripped the nation. We are finding it impossible to get any safe food at least for our children. Access to safe food is a human right. We demand that the government provides us poison free safe food.
Lt Col (retd.) Quazi Salimuddin
Convener, Bish Mukto Bangladesh
