you pass by any market in Jammu city, you find carts laden with heaps of bananas for sale. These bananas are a riot of yellow colour, one and all. Have you ever thought how come heaps of bananas on any fruit seller’s shop are of same skin colour. How come this happens so? Underneath this specter is a chemical called Calcium Carbide. It changes the colour of the skin of fruit to make it appear as ripe and tasty. The truth is the reverse. Calcium Carbide is a dangerous chemical for human health. It changes the colour of the skin but does not ripen the fruit. It is hazardous and can cause a number of ailments like headaches, digestive problem and other serious physical ailments.
Fruit Mandi Narwal receives huge quantity of banana from different parts of the country every day. It is about 160 tons of which consumption per day is about 130 tons. Imagine how much damage the chemically treated fruit can do the human health. There are some methods of ripening the fruit before marketing them. But those devices are harmless for human health. The Director of Horticulture, Planning and Marketing conceded that this dangerous chemical was used in the Mandis in Narwal and Parimpora (Srinagar) and that the Department was taking fast steps to introduce the modern scientific and harmless methods of ripening the fruit. However the seniors of Fruit Mandi Association deny using the chemical which is not true from what we see in the market. The Government should immediately take steps to see that the use of this dangerous chemical is stopped forthwith and that the fruit merchants are not allowed to play with the health of the people.
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