Adulterated tins of edible oil seized in Bhawanipatna

The Pioneer,Dec 14,2007


After Sambalpur, the Bhawanipatna police on Thursday seized a huge quantity of adulterated edible oil tins from a godown at Bhawanipatna. The police have sealed two godowns of Sanjay Agrawal and sent the samples for testing. According to police sources, Agrawal had been detained by the police for further interrogation.
After the tins were seized, Health Minister Duryodhan Majhi ordered a high-level probe. He said after seizure of huge quantities of adulterated edible oil from Sambalpur and Bhawanipatna, it could now be said that that the entire western Orissa had come under the domain of illegal traders who for their high gains had circulated adulterated edible oil tins in the market thereby paving the way for large scale ailments of common people. Majhi also feared that the adulterated oil trade might not be confined to the western parts only, but there was every possibility that the coastal parts of the State might also have come under its influence.
According to Government records at present only 14 posts of Food Inspectors were filled of the 36 sanctioned in the State. Food Inspectors are the ones who check and verify the quality of different food articles being sold in the markets. "With the Government's apathy to fill up the Food Inspect-ors' posts and Government officials being hand in glove with the illegal traders, the adulterated and unhygienic food articles business has flourished in the State," said a senior official in the Health Department.
Sambalpur SP Sanjaya Kumar, on a tip-off had conducted raids on a godown at Kadammal under Ainthapali police station and seized adulterated mustard oil worth Rs 50 lakh earlier this week. The police held the proprietor of the godown Sunil Agrawal who had been mixing burnt mobile and white oil with mustard oil and repacking these with labels of reputed brands like Dhara, Ganesh and Double Hiran. Sources said samples had been sent to the State laboratory for tests.