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Bt brinjal: Nod to GM food draws flak
Concern over sale of spurious sweets mounts
Pure sweets?
Price bites |
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Truck carrying two-wheelers catches fire
A truck carrying two-wheelers caught fire in Bathinda on Thursday.
Tribune photo: Pawan Sharma
BKS demands postal stamp to honour Dr Norman Borlaug
Preparations in place for heritage festival
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Bt brinjal: Nod to GM food draws flak
Bathinda, October 15 “It is a shame that regulators in this country have put the interests of corporations over the interests of ordinary citizens,” said Umender Dutt, executive director of the Kheti Virasat Mission, here today. “We are yet to see the report of the expert committee. But prima facie, it appears that the committee has not responded to all the issues raised about the safety of Bt brinjal adequately. More importantly, it appears that no satisfactory answers have yet been proffered about the very need for this Bt brinjal when safer, sustainable and affordable alternatives exist,” he added. Some other activists holding similar views also sought to remind Union Minister for Environment and Forests Jairam Ramesh about his assurance against the entry of GM foods into India. “We want him to keep his promise to us, keeping in view the best interests of farmers and consumers in this country and keeping sustainable development objectives at the fore,” they said. Accusing the committee for not being impartial, the anti-GM move activists said, “This Expert Committee, its constitution, its processes etc., are all fraught with problems. We had discovered that a few of the expert committee members were not even aware that the report was finalized. Further, at least two members carried a brief from their agency to only sit in the committee as observers and not to provide inputs.” “Two of the members were earlier involved in the bio-safety research and trials commissioned by Mahyco and ironically, they also sat in this committee to review their own findings. One of the committee members is a GM crop developer himself. Given all of this, we do not know why we should trust this Committee to take decisions that are in the best interests of people”, lamented the members of Kheti Virasat Mission. The members of the anti-GM movement coalition wanted the Government of India to reject the application of Bt brinjal and pointed out that no GM crop had been allowed in the world in its centre of origin and diversity. “We need real, sustainable solutions and not false and faulty solutions for the crisis in Indian farming. We hope that the government will heed to these concerns,” they added. Urging to take up the issue seriously, Umendra Dutt said, “If Bt brinjal is allowed in the country, that will be the end of choice for you. Your right to know what you are eating will be violated. Normal brinjal and Bt brinjal will be the same in appearance and you will not be able to exercise your informed choice of not eating Bt brinjal.” |
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Concern over sale of spurious sweets mounts
Fazilka, October 15 The disqualified samples of condensed milk (khoya) belong to Lovely Sweets and Amar Hotel Sweets, Fazilka and Sanjay Sweets, Ferozepur. These samples were taken from a total of 28 tins each weighing 20 kg belonging to these sweets sellers. Some of the tins had been stocked in cold storages as well. Dr Dalip Kumar said the entire condensed milk (khoya) weighing 560 kilograms, the sample of which, has failed the test would become the property of court and would eventually be destroyed. He said an action against the owners would be initiated under the Prevention of Food Adulteration Act. Summary trial of these cases would be done under section 7/16 of the Act. The sweets sellers, whose samples have disqualified, are liable to imprisonment up to three years, disclosed the civil surgeon. Abohar: Even when most of the sweets sellers here were known for transporting khoya, ghee and sweets from the neighbouring areas of Rajasthan, the health department appears to have accorded no-man's land status to this sub-divisional town during the state-wide intensive drive against the sale of stacked sweets and raw material, said Sat Pal Khariwal, the firebrand chairman of the Consumer Movement. The noted consumer rights activist has informed the civil surgeon that sweets makers had been busy preparing sweets to meet demand for Diwali for the last 10-15 days. In such a situation, the health department must go in for aggressive sampling days prior to Diwali and teams should be drawn from other districts preferably. A readymade garments seller Mohit Vij recently put on display a box of sweets that was reportedly purchased from a desi ghee sweets shop but the sweets were learnt to be carrying fungus. |
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Identify by colour, smell & taste
Anjali Singh Deswal Tribune News Service
Bathinda, October 15 Dr D.P. Sekhon, District Health Officer, Bathinda, said, “Sweets made of spurious milk look and taste exactly like sweets made of genuine milk. Fake milk is cheaper to manufacture as compared to genuine milk which is costlier,” he said. Spurious milk is generally a mixture of powder detergent, soap, water, vegetable oil, sodium hydroxide, urea and salt, which are harmful for human consumption. “Generally the solid not fat (SNF) and fat content in genuine milk detected at collection centres is 8 per cent and 4.5 per cent, respectively, but after adding urea, the fat content increases which means more profit for the manufacturer making sweets and dairy products using synthetic milk. The residue left after making paneer is normally disposed of but many manufacturers keep this residue for making milk by adding caustic soda, urea and refined oil. The specific gravity of this residue is similar to milk,” Dr Sekhon said. He also said that SNF and fat percentage in spurious milk passes the lactometer and other tests done at village level dairy cooperatives as refined oil acts as fat and ingredients like sodium sulphate, fertilizers, urea and glucose or maltose act as solids. The colours used by manufacturers making spurious sweets are for industrial purpose and not human consumption, the DHO stated. It is best to purchase sweets from a quality store only.
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Sweets may not taste yummy this Diwali
Sudhanshu Verma Tribune News Service
Bathinda, October 15 As the prices of ghee, sugar and other essential ingredients required to prepare mouth-watering pieces have literally been going through the roof over the past one year, the ‘almond bite’ is all set to ‘bite’ your pocket this festive season while ‘barfi’ may reduce smile on your face to a smirk. The prices of sweets in the city climbed unimaginably high in comparison to last Diwali. Popular sweets are Rs 30 to 40 kg more costly than last year. Owners of the most of the sweets shops here said that any sweet made of kaju is Rs 30 to 40 per kg costly than last year while price of koya sweets are about Rs 20 high per kg and same is the prices of sweets containing dals. They said, “We are helpless, prices of ghee, refined oil and sugar have increased. Labour cost is also not an exception.” The price of ghee has increased by nearly Rs 70 per kg and refined oil Rs seven and while sugar is about Rs 12 per kg than the last Diwali. “And everyone knows ‘dal’ is no longer a common man’s diet,” sweets sellers said. “But it is not that price of every sweet is soaring. King of all occasions, ‘ladoos’ will not give you a shock,” a sweet seller said. “The prices of ladoos of all qualities have been more or less stable and almost similar to the last year,” they said and added, it is to some extent deliberate and you may consider our way of wishing ‘Happy Diwali’ to you.
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Campaign for green Diwali intensifies in city
Bathinda, October 14 Blooming Buds School here celebrated Diwali today with gaiety and traditional fervour. The school was lit up with diyas and lamps. A Ram Darbar was set up on the school premises. At the darbar, children sat dressed up as Ram, Sita, Lakshman and Hanuman. The teachers informed the students about the importance of Diwali. The teachers and staff of the school also burst crackers. The students of JNJ DAV Senior Secondary Public School, Giddarbaha, shared their happiness with the under-privileged children by distributing sweets and crackers to them to mark Diwali. The students were accompanied by Shama Singla, principal of the school, and other staff members.
— TNS |
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Truck carrying two-wheelers catches fire
Bathinda, October 15 After about 45-minutes of hectic exercise, fire-fighters managed to douse the flames but they too could not ascertain the actual cause of fire as the truck was said to be covered from all sides. According to details available, a truck bearing the number HR55D-6541, belonging to Sandeep Carrier, New Delhi, with a cargo of about 24 motorcycles and 20 scooters of Suzuki Ltd. was on its way from Gurgaon to Pathankot. After it reached near the Railway ground at Paras Ram Nagar here, the truck caught fire. Narrating the incident, Rahul, the conductor of the truck, said, “Sensing that something was burning, I peeped into the carriage portion of the truck and found two motorcycles were burning. Fearing a mishap, we immediately applied brakes and shouted for help. By the time the fire brigade reached and doused the flames, 33 vehicles inside the truck were gutted.” Showing the goods carrier receipt, he informed that the total value of the 44 two-wheelers was shown as about Rs 15 lakh, while the loss was being calculated at Rs10 lakh. The truck was also partially damaged, he added. Station fire officer Jaswinder Singh Brar told TNS, “Primarily, we focused on controlling the fire as it was a tough job because the vehicles were assembled with plastic and fibre parts. It seems the fire was caused due to a spark from the batteries installed there. But we can not confirm the reason for the fire as it is yet to be formally ascertained.” On his part, investigation officer Bant Singh said, “Prima facie, no foul play has come to our notice. So we just recorded the statements of the truck drive and conductor. They took it on their own for some insurance claim.” |
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BKS demands postal stamp to honour Dr Norman Borlaug
Abohar, October 15 BKS chairman, Ajay Veer Jakhar, in a letter addressed to the Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh on Thursday, said Dr Borlaug was credited with helping feed billions in the world beginning in the 1960- exactly at a time when humanity desperately needed food. By some estimates, today over half of the world population gets its food based on the research done in agricultural sciences by Dr Borlaug. Dr Borlaug collected numerous accolades in his lifetime, including the Nobel prize for peace in 1970, and now the farmers of India are urging the Indian government to issue a special commemorative stamp in his honour. “A stamp in memory of Dr Borlaug will be a token of appreciation by the people and farmers of India towards a man, who truly helped our country,” said Ram Niwas Mirdha, president
of the Bharat Krishak Samaj (Farmers' Forum India). “We hope the government will act very soon on our request. The world of today faces unprecedented dangers in food security and climate change. This honour for Dr Borlaug will inspire humanity to overcome these challenges with character and science,” said Ajay Jakhar.
— OC |
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Preparations in place for heritage festival
Ferozepur, October 15 |
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Bathinda, October 15
