Reportedly Motilal Yadav, a UP lawyer, has brought the 10 year old ban on the noxious Chinese garlic back into the limelight by filing a petition before the lucknow Bench of allahabad High court highlighting the alleged open sale of the banned garlic. On the petition of Motilal Yadav, often referred as UP’s ‘PIL Man’, having filed more than 400 PILs so far, the lucknow Bench of allahabad High court summoned UP’s food safety drug and administration (FSDA) to explain how the banned Chinese garlic is still available in the market, which eventually put the officials back in action mode.
Previously on Monday, Uttar Pradesh witnessed a series of raids by FSDA officials across various vegetable markets to curb the alleged sale of illegal Chinese garlic. In Bijnor, under the orders of the district Magistrate, food inspector naresh Kumar and his team raided Badi Mandi, the district’s largest vegetable market. The raid caused a stir among garlic traders, but the officials did not find any Chinese garlic during their checks.
Perhaps the allahabad High court has summoned the designated officer of UP’s Food Safety and Drug Administration (FSDA) to explain how banned Chinese garlic continues to be sold in the market. The lucknow Bench also questioned the Centre’s counsel about the mechanism in place to prevent the entry of such banned items and whether any efforts had been made to trace the source of entry and stop it. During the proceedings, Yadav produced half a kilogram of Chinese garlic, along with regular garlic, before the judges to demonstrate the difference. The PIL led the court to summon FSDA officials to address the ongoing illegal sale, raising concerns over the enforcement of the decade-old ban imposed for public health safety.
click and follow Indiaherald WhatsApp channel