Kanchanpur, June 27
Two trucks of mangos enter Nepal from India via Gaddachauki these days, says Bishal Sonar, a trader at Mahendranagar.
This is a matter of cocern for the public in Mahendranagar and other parts of the country because these fruits contain harmful chemicals. Local people, including intellectual Dil Bahadur Aiir of Jhalari, say Indian traders sell fruits that contain ripening agents like carbide compounds, which are not good for human health. Worryingly, quarantine officials have not been able to stop the entry of mangos laced with hastening agents.
Traders transport truckloads of mangos, ripened using hastening agents, from Indian markets like Khatima, Vanvasa and Bareli to Mahendranagar, Suda, Daiji, Jhalari, Gulariya and Attariya of Kailali.
There’s a huge demand for mangos in these areas. Aiir says locals buy these mangos because they do not know they contain harmful chemicals. He says the local administration has not bothered to intervene, though the sale of mangos containng harmful chemicals has been going on unabatted.
With authorities not bothering to monitor the market, traders have been selling mangos containing banned chemicals, Aiire says.
Consumers aware of the harmful effects of carbides also say Plant Quarantine Office Gaddachauki has not bothered to stop the flow of mangos laced with carbides into Nepal.
Office employees say they lack equipment to check whether mangos brought to Nepal from India contain carbides or not. In this situation, we cannot juts have a look at mangos brought from India and say whether or not they contain harmful chemicals like carbides.
Food Act 2023 (Amended) has barred the use of chemicals to ripen mangos and other fruits. Traders violating this law are liable to fine of Rs 10,000 to Rs 25,000 or a three-year jail term or both.
