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Defeat enemy No.1

Quazi Salimuddin
SILENT genocide has started, says a newspaper headline. The media have regularly been highlighting the grim situation the nation is already in. Yet neither the public nor the government is getting out of the deep slumber they are in. The genocide is being committed by using poison in our food and drinks.
The suffering due to lethal dose of poison ends quickly through death. But the agony and suffering due to slow poisoning are very painful and the end comes through death after very long time. We are being poisoned very systematically. It can be said without any hesitation that almost all, if not all, the food we take contains poison. The amount of poison in food is many times higher than the recommended safe limit.
Poisons are freely and deliberately used in all types of foods, be they agricultural, dairy, poultry, fishery, bottled, canned, imported products. Imported food items like fresh fruit, processed food, milk also contain deadly poisons in much higher than safe level. Even some baby food and medicines are not free of poison.
The deadly effects of these poisons are slow but definite. The whole nation, without any exception of age, gender, caste, political affiliation, religion etc., is the victim of this slow poisoning. Children are the main victims. Even human fetus is not safe from poisoning. Expecting mothers have no option but to take the poisonous foods .These poisons have very grave effect on development of brain and other organs of the children, our future citizens. They will take birth as severely mentally and physically challenged humans. It has been established in various countries that the main reason for increased rate of kidney, liver, intestine, lung, nerve and skin diseases, and also cancer of these vital organs, are the poisons we are taking through our food, air and water every day. In our country, knowledgeable people have time and again opined that failure of vital organs of our body has increased many-fold during last few years and is likely to turn in to an epidemic soon.
We shall have to destroy the devil before it destroys this nation. This slow poisoning is not only causing human suffering of very high magnitude, but
is also making Bangladesh a nation of imbeciles and mentally and physically challenged inhabitants. What will happen to this country? What is the cost of this human suffering? What will be the effect on human resources, development, loss of working hour, medical treatment cost etc etc. We can firmly say the effects will be devastating, far reaching and long term. Experts should make the calculation in
tangible terms.
It is high time we go for action, if we do not want to die a very miserable death, if we do not want our children and grand children to become mentally and physically retarded, leading a humiliating life and ultimately meeting an agonising death.
It is the foremost duty of government to make poison-free food available to the people. It has to motivate, educate, monitor, supervise, regulate, implement, formulate rules and regulations, and make laws to save people from this all-encompassing slow poisoning. Slow poisoning of a nation is a crime against humanity. Our right to safe food is being brutally violated. Those who are engaged in production, manufacture, import, distribution and retailing of poison mixed food are "Public Enemy No.l" (ak nomborgono dushmon).
We demand of our government to form a cabinet
committee headed by the prime minister. Ministers in charge of agriculture, commerce, health, law, home and information should be members of this committee. Amongst other things, it may;
(a) Impose immediate ban on import of chemical pesticides/insecticides, herbicides, fertilizers, food additives, hormones etc., which are banned or severely restricted in developed countries; (b) Strictly
regulate import/production, sale and use of various chemicals. Ensure that excess quantity is not available in the market and is used by government-authorised consumers only; (c) Discourage use of chemicals by making them more costly by imposing various taxes and duties; (d) The existing laws against adulteration, use of various chemicals and hormones etc. in manufacturing, producing, processing, selling of various food and food products, need to be made appropriate to the threat they pose to the very survival of the people. They needs to be revised so that the punishment is highly deterrent and covers all aspects of malpractice without any loopholes. There should be at least one special court/tribunal constituted in every district headquarter. There should be dozens if not hundreds of mobile courts having much more power than present courts. These steps should be taken on immediate basis.
In the long term;
(a) Educate peasants, agriculture farm workers and owners, fishermen, traders in haats/bazzars and gonjes about the crime they are knowingly or unknowingly committing, highlighting loss of land fertility, and insects, pests etc becoming immune to chemical insecticides. Introduce to the peasants viable, sustainable, more profitable and cost effective alternatives to chemical fertilizers and insecticides; (b) Research organisations which are engaged in various fields of agriculture should be strengthened to find high-yielding, drought and pest-resistant seeds and plants. They have laudable achievements in their own fields; (c) Government departments engaged in detecting, monitoring, prosecuting must be empowered, reorganised if necessary, strengthened, and equipped with proper testing laboratories and other expertise. As these departments are under different ministries, they should operate under same policy/guideline and under one directing authority; (d) Government should seek support/cooperation from NGOs, associations, bodies, experts in appropriate fields, media, political parties, civil society etc.; (e) To be prepared with physical infrastructure, doctors, support staff, medicine, equipment etc to handle patients with vital organ failure, cancer, autism etc.
The suggestions as made above are nothing new. The government has to understand that survival of our nation is more important than allowing some culprits in industries/firms/business etc to flourish. The situation demands vigorous and sustained action by the government.
As this is a national problem of very grave nature, we cannot just sit idle and criticise the government. It is not going to save the nation. All of us old and young, male and female, rich and poor, in villages or cities, have a duty to perform. Media, political parties, civil society, students, NGOs, actors/actresses, professional groups, agricultural/industrial labourers, businessmen/ industrialist, ulema, ex-service men, etc., all have definite roles to play. Come out and defeat the "enemy No.l" to have bish mukto Bangladesh (poison-free Bangladesh).
The writer is a retired lieutenant colonel.
E-mail: bishmukto.bangla@gmail.com