Crime Related to Food

There are clear indications that those who strive to earn an income out of the sale of food will stop at nothing that yields a good profit—even if it means creating hazards to human life. Those who sell fish in Assam imported from States like Andhra Pradesh or Telengana have clearly proved that they regard human lives (of others) as being of less consequence than their thirst for profit from hazardous food provided for lesser beings. For years, we have had importers of fish to Assam from Andhra Pradesh or Telengana or elsewhere completely ignoring the fact that the chemicals (like formaldehyde) that preserve fish are very harmful for human beings who consume fish so preserved over three to six days. This business of selling fish preserved with chemicals like formaldehyde should have been detected by our administration ages ago, and the perpetrators of the crime against human beings (including children) punished and banned from doing business. But nothing of the sort has happened. All that the administration has done is to ban the sale of such imported fish for just ten days. This means that the purveyors of poison can resume their activities after a gap of just ten days. We acknowledge the fact that the people of Assam cannot do without fish. There are huge water bodies in the State in the form of rivers and lakes. What needs to be done is to ensure that there is adequate fish in our water bodies to take care of our needs at all times. This should be possible without our having to import fish from Andhra Pradesh or Telengana. If need be, we have to curb our craving for fish until we have done everything possible to be completely self-sufficient in respect of our requirements of fish. In ten years from now, we should be in a position to export fish to other States. This is a goal that needs to be pursued very seriously.