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Recycled atta passed off to poor
From Raman Mohan

HISAR, April 8 — Recycled atta prepared from dried chapatis given to beggars and scavengers in alms is finding its way to roadside dhabas and shops in colonies inhabited by economically weaker sections all over the state.

While the cheapest freshly ground atta is available for Rs 7.50 a kilo, recycled atta is sold to dhabas for Rs 3 to 4 a kilo. Because of the huge margin, it is a favourite with dhaba owners. Besides dhabas, recycled atta is being sold in colonies inhabited by the labour class and other economically weaker sections where it is passed off as fresh atta for Rs 5 to 6 a kilo.

It is hard to distinguish recycled atta from fresh atta as the appearance is almost the same. It is a little darker in appearance, but the problem is generally overcome by mixing small quantities of fresh atta or maida to it.

Enquiries reveal that in a city of the size of Hisar, about 20 to 25 quintals of recycled atta is being consumed daily. Insiders say there are about 60,000 households in the town of which about 45,000 live in the old areas. These are generally conservative and traditional families where at least two chapatis are given twice a day to beggars and scavengers.

It is estimated that on an average one lakh chapatis are given in charity every day. Each dry chapati weighs around 25 gm which means that about 25 quintals of recycled atta is pumped into the market every day. In addition, many families also make it a point to keep aside at least two chapatis a day for cows. Since stray cattle are not readily available, at least half of these too pass into the hands of beggars and ultimately find their way to the recycled atta market.

While scavengers dry these chapatis under the sun on their rooftops, beggars dry these in the open public land. The dried chapatis are then sold by weight at Rs 1.50 a kilo to three shops located at the Multani Chowk here. Trade sources said such shops existed all over the state. These shopkeepers grind the chapatis to prepare recycled atta.

The chapatis are dried under unhygienic conditions. Dust and bird droppings get mixed with the chapatis and it is virtually impossible to sift these from the chapatis. Once dry, these chapatis are packed in gunny bags and sold to shopkeepers who specialise in this business.

None of the shopkeepers involved in this business admitted that they sold recycled atta. But to explain the presence of dried chapatis, they maintained that these were sold as animal feed. However, enquiries revealed that nobody fed dried chapatis to milch cattle these days because of the availability of specialised feeds though dry chapatis were fed to animals by mixing the powdered chapatis with fodder in small quantities in the past. Veterinarians say the practice ended years ago after it was found that powdered chapatis caused stomach infections in animals.

Nutritionists say besides being unhygienic recycled atta is devoid of natural vitamins and other nutrients because baking and then drying destroyed these. They say regular use of such atta could not only cause infections but also cause deficiency of essential nutrients.

Trade sources trace the popularity of branded atta marketed by big companies such as Captain Cook and Kissan to the mixing of recycled atta to fresh wheat flour in order to boost profits. It is learnt that the well-to-do families now prefer to buy branded atta sold at over Rs 10 a kilo because of this reason.

The emergence of mobile flourmills powered by tractors is also attributed to the sale of recycled atta. Such chakkis are a common sight in newer colonies since many families prefer now to buy wheat and get it grind in front of their home itself.

However, roadside eateries continue to be the biggest consumers of recycled atta. This suits recycled atta dealers since these eateries lift the stocks in bulk. Sources estimate that recycled atta worth over Rs 30 lakh is sold throughout the state every day. They maintain that recycled atta is now also finding its way to markets in Delhi too where labour colonies are mushrooming day by day.

Health Department officials say it is virtually impossible to check the sale of recycled atta because it is hard to detect. Besides, they say laboratory tests do not show it to be any different from fresh atta. However, food and nutrition experts say laboratory tests could determine whether the atta had been previously baked.