37 tonne mangos ripened with chemicals destroyed

The force raided the wholesale fruit market in Jatrabarhi on Thursday, a day before the start of the month on the Islamic calendar.

Executive Magistrate Sarwoer Alam, who headed the drive, said they bulldozed 1,000 maund mangos and 40 maund date in the drive (1 maund = 37.3242 kg).

Officials said the government has banned trading of mangoes from orchards in Rajshahi and Chanpainawabganj before June 5 and Satkhira before May 22 as the seasonal fruit is not ripening by the time, unless chemicals are applied.
The magistrate urged all not to buy mango from these districts, the major source of the summer fruit, before the ban goes.

The RAB raided the market with the help of Dhaka South City Corporation and Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institution as mangoes have already started arriving in Dhaka.

Magistrate Sarwoer said dishonest traders spray chemicals like ethephon and carbide on the green mangos so that these look like ripe and can be sold to unsuspecting customers.
“These can cause cancer and many other diseases.”

He said he handed jail terms between 15 days and one year to nine people during the drive for storing the fruits.