SUBHASH MISHRA
Dhanbad, July 11: The state government has deployed four senior food safety officers (FSO) from various districts on deputation to examine and test the availability of unadulterated food products and water during the month-long renowned Shrawani Mela at Deoghar.
The officers will transmit the samples to Namkum (Ranchi) based state laboratory in addition to testing any suspected products on the spot. Under the 2006 Food Safety Standard Act (FSSA), action against a food outlet would be performed based on sample reports.
The month-long Shrawani Mela is being orgainsed from July 13 to August 12 at Baba Dham Deoghar and Basukinath Dumka after two years due to Covid-19.
Amit Kumar Ram (Pakur), Pawan Kumar (Giridih), Gulab Lakra (Godda), and Sanjay Kumar (Sahibganj) are the food safety officers who have been assigned to work at Babadham.
In this regard, Chandan Kumar, the joint secretary for the state government, issued a notification on the deputation of officers and instructed them to report to Deoghar SDM. The officers on deputation would test food products under the Food Safety Standard Act (FSSA) 2006.
A senior officer of the food safety department said that besides the deployment of officers, the state government has also pressed in its Mobile Testing Van in the Mela for on spot testing of suspected items. “The officers, who have been deployed in the campaign, would conduct tests on the spot and also send the collected samples to Ranchi Lab,” said the officer.
The officers would pay close attention to the famous ‘Peda’ of Deoghar and soft drinks. Deoghar Peda is the most sought-after item by devotees at the Shrawani Mela. Since the supply cannot meet the demand, which exceeds 300 tonnes per day, it is said that occasionally casual sellers adulterate the product to satisfy the need.
“We will gather questionable samples and do on-site testing at all temporary and permanent food outlets between Dumka (the border between Jharkhand and Bihar) and Deoghar,” said the officials.
In 2019, the Shrawani Mela food safety team collected 85 samples of allegedly contaminated sweets from permanent Mela outlets, of which 21 samples were deemed hazardous by Ranchi’s state laboratory.
During the Shrawani Mela, more than 1 lakh devotees travel to Baba Dham every day to present Gangajal of Sultanganj to Jyotitlingam.
