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Chemical-Tainted Mango

Supply falls as govt set to start drive

Staff Correspondent
The supply of mango to the capital has sharply come down ahead of the government drive to check consignments of the summer fruit for formalin.
Many traders at Karwan Bazar and Mohammadpur yesterday said the supply has almost halved over the last two days. It would drop further from today as government teams start inspecting trucks of mango at eight entry points of the capital.
"Usually, we get four to five truckloads of mango every night. But tonight not a single truck is coming to my store," said Md Parvez, manager of a wholesale centre at Karwan Bazar, yesterday.
According to some wholesalers, orchard owners fear police might destroy their fruits as they use four to five types of chemicals in different phases of fruit growth.
ASM Mahbubul Alam alias Haji Babul, president of Karwan Bazar wholesale fruit market, said fruit growers use chemicals, which include insecticides and ripening hormones, though they had been asked not to.
Asked about the supply, he said around 500 tonnes of mango arrive at Karwan Bazar a day. But in the last two days, the supply has decreased by around 40 percent.
Another wholesaler said mango growers are scared about the drive as officials might detect the chemicals and confuse those with formalin.
Contacted, some mango farmers and traders from Rajshahi and Chuadanga said they will observe the government move for the next couple of days.
"We use government-approved fruitripening hormone in our mango, not formalin. But still we have to face harassment," said Sarowar Hossain, a mango suppliers from Chuadanga.
Over the last few months, different
consumer platforms have been staging protests in the capital over widespread use of toxic chemicals in food, particularly formalin in fruit.
To stop the use of formalin, Dhaka Metropolitan Police Commissioner Benazir Ahmed said, they would test all consignments of mango at the eight entry points of the capital.
In association with Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institution (BSTI), they will set up check points at Postogola Bridge, Waisghat at Sadarghat, Abdullahpur bridge, Dhaur bridge in Ashulia, Babubazar Bridge, Gabtoli, Jatrabari Police Station and the intersection near Kamal bridge at Demra.