In a routine administrative functioning it is no news that some Government department heads off a violator of law and saves people from being adversely impacted by the violation. It happens as a normal activity and doesn’t qualify for news, not to speak of any comment. But in certain circumstances even a usual act is laced with more-than-usual effect. This is what aptly applies to the seizure of a truckload of edible oil that was found adulterated, as goes the official version.  In a joint operation conducted by Srinagar Municipal Cooperation and the City Police a truckload of oil tins was seized and the owner of the local oil factory arrested. This goes without saying that the oil would have found its way into the local market and thus into household consumption. The level of health hazard that such adulterated edible matter poses is not difficult to grasp. We would have a good number of people under the attack of disease had this truckload been missed and allowed consumption. But it’s not where we get an answer to what our departments are doings, and how markets are being checked to keep the unscrupulous elements at bay. It’s exactly here that the question pops up. The question is this: are our markets really safe for us. One finds restrained to gravitate towards such optimism. Though it needs to be maintained that an act of vigil needs appreciation, and this joint action by SMC and City Police must actuate the duo into more strident watch, but the fact of the matter is that the kind of administration which is in place and the way things in the public domain are being allowed to grow haphazardly bristles against a conscious mind. In the rest of the word there is a constant up gradation of infrastructure to maintain vigil on things that flow into the markets; technology and refinement of legal and administrative checks are employed to make the control more efficient. Not just this, media is effectively employed to raise the level of consciousness in the consumers so that people can’t be conned by wrong doers. This doesn’t seem to be happening in our State. We talk about such things only when it sneaks into news, usually for wrong reasons, or else when some function occasioned by a special date or a government announcement is held. Beyond this the concern for consumers is hardly discernable. We don’t find any plans announced by concerned departments that can alert people from time to time about various unhealthy trends feared to slip into the market. We don’t find the heads of the concerned departments meeting people to ask for suggestions and identify the ugly spots. We rarely come across a combined effort launched by concerned government departments, civil society organizations, and business community to press for having clean markets and a fare deal with the consumers. Unlike other places in the world we even don’t have a visible organisation, government or otherwise, where people could get information on the products that adorn the shelves of our provision stores, and manufactures who supply them into market. There is not even a strict mechanism that could decide the rates of the products. So it is a huge area of concern lying almost vacant. A consistent policy on part of government, a regular follow up mechanism, and a functional association with various civil bodies can help keep a strict vigil on markets. There can be multiple check points to make it difficult for the unscrupulous elements to even think of committing a wrong. The present situation is quite contrary to this; dishonest elements in our society find it dam easy to flood the market with low quality, even harmful, products. Things must be made difficult for them.

Lastupdate on : Tue, 18 May 2010 21:30:00 Makkah time
Lastupdate on : Tue, 18 May 2010 18:30:00 GMT
Lastupdate on : Wed, 19 May 2010 00:00:00 IST