Hundreds of bags, containing adulterated chillies, turmeric, along with rice powder, husk of wheat, oil and chemical colours used in the adulteration, have been recovered in a crack down against the adulteration mafia. Following reports of sale of adulterated eatables in the market, a special squad, constituted by District Co-ordination Officer (DCO) Athar Hussain Khan Sial, conducted a raid on a factory located on Chibban Road here on Thursday.
After a thorough search, the squad, on suspicion, took into its possession samples of articles.
According to details, the articles taken into possession include, red powdered chillies (53 bags, each bag weighing about 40 kilograms); red chillies (whole) black colour (59 bags, each bag weighing 30 kilograms), rice powder prepared from useless rice (20 bags, each weighing about 50 kilograms), six small drums of oil, each drum weighing about 20 kilograms, yellow chemical colour, weighing about 10 kilograms, chemical orange colour, weighing about five kilograms, red chemical colour, weighing about 250 grams, husk (animal feed) each bag weighing about 60 kilograms, red chillies (whole) 35 bags, each bag weighing about 30 kilograms and turmeric one bag, weighing about 100 kilograms.
However, a case has been registered with the Civil Lines police against the alleged factory management.
According to Food Inspector Malik Abdul Qayyum Awan, a case has already been registered against the accused.
The DCO, appreciating the performance of the raiding team, said that the persons playing havoc with the human lives did not deserve any leniency.
He also announced to constitute a special task force under the supervision of the Executive District Officer (EDO), Health, Dr Umar Farooq, to nab the adulteration mafia.
The DCO directed the DDO (Law) to actively pursue the cases and ensure that the culprits would get imprisonment.
He said the seized adulterated goods should be destroyed, and added that to check the menace of adulteration, a laboratory, in collaboration with the provincial Health department, would be set up in Faisalabad and an analyst would also be appointed so that the analysis process of the samples could be accelerated.
On the occasion, Sheikh Taj Din, representing the traders community, said that the persons, involved in adulteration, did not belong to the traders community.
He said all those involved in bringing bad name to this respectable profession, should be brought to book.
He said the traders' organisation would also take stern action against such elements and if anybody tried to support them, he would be shunted out of the organisation.
It was also decided in the meeting that, by expanding the scope and circle of anti-adulteration drive, action would also be taken against the persons involved in the adulteration by mixing grease, mobil oil, fertilisers and medicines etc.
Superintendent of Police (City) Abdul Mateen Buttar, EDO, Health, Dr Umar Farooq, DO (Coord) Malik Aslam, food inspector Abdul Qayyum Awan, DDO (Law) Mian Afzaal and traders' representatives Sheikh Taj Din, Hafeez Bhalla, Sheikh Ejaz and others attended the meeting.