Living With Adulteration
March 23, 2010
News Worldwide — Adulteration is amongst those chronic diseases that has rooted firmly its seeds in the genes of almost every Pakistani. This unlawful, inhuman and malicious practice has played havoc with the health of people to the extend that we daily hear sever physical damage to the consumers. There is no doubt that a very well organized community with the collaboration of wealth greedy high profiled government officials is indulged in this malpractice without fear. It reminds me of former USSR where a hotel manager was executed by firing squad for using fate instead of oil in food to be served to his customers. In contrast the appended story will unveil our indifference toward this vicious game in our land of pure.
On of my close relatives had an accident and broke his leg. An iron rod was fixed in his shin by surgeon and also prescribed certain medicine (capsules) which he purchased from local market at a cost of Rs.8000 containing ten capsules. After consuming three capsules, one a day, he almost lost his eye side, big blisters appeared on his entire body and his nails started fallings He was rushed to the concerned specialist surgeon, who immediately put him in ICU and sent the bottle containing remaining capsules for laboratory test. Laboratory report was startling which revealed that the capsules did not contain the prescribed ingredients and rather were poisonous and dangerous to human life. Thee young man, however, survived but with disfigure complexion.
450 students, teachers of Islamia High School Khanwal, fell unconscious after consuming unhygienic confectionary recently (The Frontier Post dated March 14, 2010). Moreover, a factory in Rawalpindi was raided and sealed for preparing fake commodities. Branded packets were used to pack fake tea, keer mix, custard and fake flavoured drink powder were sold in retail and wholesale markets (The News date
March 14, 2010). Some time back, similar news appeared in news papers that a well recognised packed milk factory was raided and from its confiscated stuff it was observed that hair removing power, singahra and a highly dangerous acid was used to thicken and preservation of the milk. On of my friends, invited my whole family to a Milad along with some other 50 odd aquatints at night. Somehow, I missed the sacred gathering. Next morning as I was leaving for office, my daughters complained of fever and shivering. There appeared nothing serious so I left for office. Two hours latter I received a phone call informing me that both my daughters and my spouse have been taken to hospital in very precarious condition. I rushed to the hospital and found them in ICU being treated for food poisoning. I also came to know that all the participants of Milad have been admitted in different hospitals for the same reason. Although all of them survived by a miracle, but it took them months to fully recover.
We hear or read such events, almost every day, but who cares. Human life in land of pure has no significance for those who are indulged in this heinous rather murderous business. Should we believe that every ruling government didn’t know about it or they were also part of this wealth making enterprise? From baby milk to life saving drugs, every edible item is adulterated. The producers/ suppliers of raw material are the feudal lords. The manufacturers are industrial tycoons. They spend huge money to get their stockiest and distributors to be elected as representatives of people in parliament, thus earning billion of rupees through their agents in food department and police. They will never allow stringent laws to be passed to punish these culprits. They just get away, if caught, with a telephone call. On the other hand, hapless people have taken it as granted. This has damaged our international image as exporters of food stuff and medicines, specially meant for infants and children which have deprived us of much needed foreign exchange and add in flourishing corruption.
Surprisingly, no political party, civil society, religious fatwa maker or parliament-
tarians have ever mad serious endeavours to make it an issue of this inhuman crime. May be, they also have a lion’s share in this business being major shareholders. They are not only playing with the lives of innocent children students, aged citizens and patients of all ages ignoring the fact that only a healthy nation makes healthy progress in all walks f life. Our products are looked down upon with disdain in other countries due to their below standard and unfit for human use.
The only remedy looks to capital punishment for this gang of adulterers. Now, our Judiciary is independent, therefore, she must take a Suo Moto action because the time is running out to produce physically healthy, strong and mentally genius likes of Albert Einstein, Plato and Isaac Newton, otherwise, Pakistan will be full of retarded, physically weak and mentally unfit generation and likely to reverse the Darwin theory, unable to compete with the modern nations who pay more attention to the health of their generation than accumulation of wealth.
Written by: Syed Ishfaq Hussain
Posted by Angelia Kates · Filed Under Opinion
