Officials raided several fruit shops near Shyamal Crossroad and seized 1 kg of carbide used for ripening mangoes.
Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation’s (AMC) health officials raided several fruit shops near Shyamal Crossroad on Saturday. In the raid, new west zone officials caught two mango dealers red-handed for using carbide to ripen mangoes. The civic body also seized 1 kg of raw carbide from Uttam Fruit Shop which was stored separately inside their godown. AMC also seized packets of carbide powder placed underneath mangoes, stored inside the cellar of Prem Fruit Shop.
Health officials in new west zone decided on a surprise checking of mango dealers on Anandnagar road on Saturday. They raided Uttam Fruit Shop at 4 pm and asked the owner to reveal the hidden carbide, after the mangoes reeked of the chemical.
When the shop owners didn’t co-operate, the officials went inside the shop and found that it had a cellar which was used to ripen the mangoes. During inspection, they found a box filled with stones that were actually carbide pieces, which were kept to be used as and when the stock of mangoes arrived.
Officials estimated the market price of raw carbide to be around Rs1,000 and said that shop owners were using it indiscriminately. Despite the owner arguing that it was impossible to ripen the ‘Kesar’ mango without carbide, health officials levied a fine of Rs500 and warned him of further action if he re-used it.
Prem shop, on Anandnagar road, was also found using carbide on a very large scale. When officials entered the shop, they smelt carbide in the godown. The shop had only recently imported a large chunk of ‘Ratnagiri Kesar’, and carbide packets were used for ripening. Officials immediately seized the packets and fined the shop-owner Rs500, and warned him. This reporter, who witnessed the entire operation, also saw the shop owner trying to bribe officials, without any success. The shop-owner argued that this was a common practice with all mango dealers and so he should be allowed to go.
Apart from the mango dealers, officials also checked four pani-puri vendors passing on the road. They checked the quality of water and potatoes used by them. Officials seized almost a kg of rotten potatoes and poly-ethylene bags of less than 20 microns from them. AMC also raided a restaurant named ‘Paandadi’ and checked its kitchen. Officials found 5 kg of rotten potatoes, day-old stale dal and other prepared food which was meant to be served today which they destroyed and levied a fine of Rs300.
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