Rourkela: Sale of spurious powdered milk and delicacies prepared from it has been on the rise under the patronage of owners of some dairy farms and eateries in this city, a report said.
Though such an illegal practice was earlier going on in a few sweet stalls, at present many dairy farm owners have resorted to it to make fast money. This has posed serious threat to the health of children of this city, locals said.
According to sources, a group of city traders bring truckloads of cheap milk power from other states and supply them directly to their customers including sweet stalls, eateries and private dairy farms.
In fear of being caught, the trucks are parked at secluded places on the outskirts of the city and the materials are dispatched to their customers in the wee hours with prior information.
While branded powdered milk in the market is sold at Rs 400 a kilogram, this cheap powder is available at something between Rs 200 and Rs 220, it was learnt.
Each kilogram of this power can produce about 10 litres of milk and they can easily be sold at Rs 40 to Rs 44 in the market. While cow milk is sold at Rs 44 a litre in the market, unscrupulous milkmen also charge the same price terming the product as ‘pure’, it was learnt.
Such a practice is rampant in most of the dairy farms in Basanti Colony, Daily Market, Uditnagar, Civil Township, Panposh, Koel Nagar, Jhirpani, Jagada, Fertilizer Township and all sectors of the Steel City, observed some locals. A fight with the milkmen over the issue never yields any result, they said.
Some dairy farms even go on to prepare other milk products like paneer and sell them to hotels and sweet stalls while a few others sell the ‘pure’ milk to residents travelling door to door. As it is difficult for a layman to differentiate between pure and spurious, customers often find themselves at the receiving end, a report said.
When sought an opinion over the issue, Rourkela Government Hospital paediatrician Dr Dinabandhu Panda said such products are hazardous to children’s health. Powdered milk is difficult for children to digest due to its high protein content. Frequent use of the item can damage the kidney of a kid, he added.
RMC health officer Dr Basant Kumar Mishra said he along with a food inspector has been conducting raids at several places of the city. In the wake of allegations, civil supplies department would be roped in and samples of spurious powder would be sent for laboratory test, Mishra said, adding if found guilty, stringent action would be initiated against the offenders. PNN
