I am convinced that the recent news item that was published in local dailies relating to BPL rice being repacked and sold as Andhra rice was an eye opener for all the citizens of Nagaland. I must congratulate and salute those who boldly exposed the nexus (Syndicate) that had existed and fooled consumers in Nagaland for so long. Like me, many innocent consumers must be doubting about the fall in quality and taste by the day but quietly bearing the pain of being cheated as doubts/suspicion could not be nailed till then. Since years back, I had stopped consuming Andhra rice as the original taste had deteriorated by the day. The parties to the syndicate must have taken advantage of the fact that the demand for it was rising by the day and that we Nagas in general are simple minded and tolerant and not in the habit of filing complaints to authorities. My preference for rice shifted to Broken Basmati commonly known as Dubar. Initially, the taste was good and I was delighted with the fact that I could afford to eat Basmati rice at a much cheaper price. With passage of time, as was the case with Andhra rice, its Aromatic flavour and taste had deteriorated. Now, on being cooked, its tastes and texture are no different from Superfine rice. In short, I am being made to consume broken Super-fine rice instead of Broken Basmati rice by paying more than what I should have. My humble appeal is that since the dirt has been made public, let us all act together to ensure that we get what we pay for and that our tolerance should not be seen as foolishness or weakness to those who are minting money out of it.
My gratitude also goes to Health & Family Welfare Department and its agencies for its commendable job in ensuring that formalin treated fishes are not sold in Nagaland and also that food products sold in market are prepared in hygienic environment. It was a serious crime indeed that for ages, we have been made to consume fishes laced with poisonous chemicals.
We are witness to what was circulated in social media on how dry fish sold in the market are being treated with formalin and insecticide for its preservation. Though it is not right to jump into conclusion, I feel this is something we can’t just write off as fake news but requires closer investigation to establish or disprove what was circulated in the news.
The other matter of concern is the food items being displayed and sold in Tea Hotels. Many a time, I have experienced being served with reheated Samosas, Kachoris, Khajur etc. in these hotels. This plainly implies the food item being served are not freshly prepared but has been kept for days together. The concerned authority may kindly initiate steps to check on this menace so that the common man is not made to suffer in term of value for money and health. Other interesting and worthwhile effort on the concerned authority would be to conduct regular checks on the quality of fresh milk being sold (to establish or disprove whether adulterants such as maida and cheap ghee are being added to it) and to find out the manner in which dead animals (Pigs, fowls etc) are being disposed off.
Adulteration of food in any form is serious and has direct negative impact on our health. Anyone involved in it are criminals and should be tried under that Code.
