Sunita Narain in panel discussion over air pollution back to what it was pre lockdown
12-Dec-20 Sunita Narain Special Programe : Sunita Narain in panel discussion over air pollution back to what it was pre lockdown.
12-Dec-20 Sunita Narain Special Programe : Sunita Narain in panel discussion over air pollution back to what it was pre lockdown.
The air quality recorded on the BT Road campus of Rabindra Bharati University has been the worst while that of Rabindra Sarobar has been the best in the city, a study of the last fortnight’s results available on the West Bengal Pollution Control Board’s website revealed. The contrast was because of uncontrolled truck movement along BT Road and the absence of much human activity inside Rabindra Sarobar, an official of the board said. The air quality recorded at BT Road’s monitoring station has been poorer than other places for years, the official said. “The air quality remained particularly bad during the night and early morning hours in the station at Rabindra Bharati University. This could be because of the movement of a large number of goods vehicles along the road during this time, when trucks enter Calcutta to unload goods or leave after completing work,” said the WBPCB official. An assistant commissioner of Calcutta police said that over 10,000 trucks ply along BT Road every day between 12pm and 4pm and between 10pm and 8am the next day. A study by the National Environmental Engineering Research Institute, conducted between 2017 and 2019, found that goods carriers were responsible for 49 per cent of PM10 and 49.5 per cent of PM2.5 in the ambient air contributed by vehicular emission. The state government has told the National Green Tribunal that it will phase out commercial vehicles that are 15 years or older. But old and polluting vehicles continue to ply in the city. Metro studied the daily air quality bulletin between November 26 and December 9. On November 27 and 28, the air quality measured at the RBU station was “poor” while all other stations recorded “moderate”. On December 4, it measured “severe” readings. On December 6, it showed “very poor” air quality while other stations said “poor”. “This shows that besides the overall pollution in the region (Calcutta and its surroundings), there are additional local sources of pollution in the vicinity of BT Road contributing to greater pollution in that area. This could be because of the heavy traffic along BT Road or other sources of emission,” said Sagnik Dey, an associate professor at IIT Delhi’s Centre for Atmospheric Sciences. There is a need to identify the local sources through a survey in the area, said Anumita Roy Chowdhury, the executive director of Centre for Science and Environment. “It is common for cities to have areas that consistently show more air pollution levels than the general air pollution in the city. There must be a local area action plan to control the additional air pollution contributed by the local sources. This should be in addition to the action plan meant for the entire city or the region,” said Roy Chowdhury. The board has identified some local units that trade in spare parts of old cars, the WBPCB official said. The trading mostly happens at night and the units burn spare parts which emits a lot of pollutants. “We have requested the police to see that the units do not burn anything,” the official said. Rabindra Sarobar, in a leafy south Calcutta neighbourhood, has measured better air quality than the other stations. On November 26 and 29, the air quality was “moderate” at the Sarobar station and “poor” at all others. On December 8, it was “poor” while other stations recorded “very poor” air quality.
The High Court has appointed Sunita Narain, Director General, Centre for Science and Environment, India Habitat Centre, New Delhi as an expert to look into environment and ecology impact due to multi-storey commercial building which is coming up in proximity of River Jhelum in Rajbagh area here. Hearing a plea, a division bench of the court also directed continuation of the prohibition on any construction imposed by it on November 10 till further orders. “We hereby appoint Ms. Sunita Narain, Director General, Centre for Science & Environment, India Habitat Centre, New Delhi as the Expert/Local Commissioner to assist the scrutiny by this Court,” the division bench said. Sunita Narain, the court said, shall examine and give expert opinion on the permissibility of the construction being raised at the site, its impact from every angle on environment and ecology, its impact on the protection of River Jhelum. The court asked Narain to examine the river management policy schemes, practices of Jammu and Kashmir and the status of the rivers to give expert opinion regarding protection and preservation of the rivers, the effect of construction along the rivers, impact of release of sewage into rivers, impact of dumping of garbages on river banks and rivers.” The court also directed that the Government to examine the recommendations and take urgent steps to implement the same. “Ms. Sunita Narain shall be assisted by Ms. Sushma Chouhan, DC, Jammu, in the above exercise to be undertaken.” The DC Jammu has been asked to examine the documents relied on by the builder, trace the title chain and submit a report. “Ms. Chouhan shall also examine the records relating to the land, its usage etc and submit a report to Ms. Sunita Narain.” The court directed that the entire record of the case, including the revenue records, sale deeds, applications for non objection certificates filed, records relating to their processing and sanction accorded be placed before Narain for examination. “Ms. Sunita Narian shall carefully scrutinize the same and submit a report to this court on the issues noted by us in the order dated 10th November 2020 and the present order,” the bench added.
Amritsar: The Centre for Sustainable Habitat (CSH) of Guru Nanak Dev University signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Centre of Science and Environment (CSE), New Delhi, to share knowledge and conduct need-based collaborative research and capacity building to address various issues and challenges occurring in environment of cities and villages. Prof Jaspal Singh Sandhu, V-C, GNDU, said, “The CSE will act as a knowledge partner of the CSH to help mainstream sustainability concerns in the built environment to attain sustainable development goals. A state-of-the-art research lab will be established in the university to carry on the inter-disciplinary research work.” TNS
Observing that environmental concerns cannot be ignored or compromised in any manner, the Jammu and Kashmir High Court has appointed a Delhi-based expert on the permissibility of the multi-storey commercial building which is coming up between 10 to 15 feet from the banks of the River Jhelum in Rajbagh area here. “In eco-fragile territories as that of Jammu, Kashmir and Ladakh, environmental concerns cannot be ignored or compromised in any manner. River Jhelum is an essential natural feature in the Valley and its protection and preservation has to remain of primary and utmost concern,” said a division of the court said while hearing a petition. "We hereby appoint Ms. Sunita Narain, Director General, Centre for Science & Environment, India Habitat Centre, New Delhi as the Expert/Local Commissioner to assist the scrutiny by this Court,” the division bench said. Ms. Sunita Narain, the court said, shall examine and give expert opinion on the permissibility of the construction being raised at the site, its impact from every angle on environment and ecology, its impact on the protection of River Jhelum. “Ms. Sunita Narain shall also examine the river management policy schemes, practices of Jammu and Kashmir; the status of the rivers, give expert opinion regarding protection and preservation of the rivers, the effect of construction along the rivers, impact of release of sewage into rivers, impact of dumping of garbages on river banks and rivers.” The court directed that the Government shall examine the recommendations and take urgent steps to implement the same. “Ms. Sunita Narain shall be assisted by Ms. Sushma Chouhan, DC, Jammu, in the above exercise to be undertaken.” The DC Jammu has been asked to examine the documents relied on by the builder, trace the title chain and submit a report, the court said further. “Ms. Chouhan shall also examine the records relating to the land, its usage etc and submit a report to Ms. Sunita Narain.” The court directed that the entire record of the case, including the revenue records, sale deeds, applications for non objection certificates filed, records relating to their processing and sanction accorded be placed before Ms. Sunita Narain for examination. “Ms. Sunita Narian shall carefully scrutinize the same and submit a report to this court on the issues noted by us in the order dated 10th November 2020 and the present order,” the court said. The court also ordered the continuation of the prohibition on any construction imposed by it on November 10 till further orders. (GNS)
Kolkata: A thick smog cover suffocating the city for the second consecutive day rendered the air quality “very poor” with the AQI shooting past the 300-mark on Wednesday. The air quality may degrade further with no major change in the weather conditions soon. This is the first dense smog episode in the city this season. The city AQI, which used to plunge as the day passed, remained almost static with minor deviation in the noon and again started rising after the sunset. The AQI at Ballygunge air quality monitoring station, for instance, hovered around 330 and after sunset it rose to 335 at 7pm. For six other stations, the trend was almost the same. Despite a dip, the AQI at Rabindra Bharati University (BT Road, in north Kolkata) remained the highest. At Rabindra Sarobar station, which represents the best possible air of the city, AQI shot beyond 300. According to a WBPCB scientist, very calm atmospheric conditions have trapped the pollutants at a lower level in the atmosphere, leading to a rapid build-up. The wind speed for most of the day remained at or around 0kmph. The extremely calm condition prevented any dispersion of pollutants. Secondary aerosol, which has the highest contribution of PM2.5 to the city’s ambient air in winter, has a role to play in creating the smog, said scientists. According to the Source Apportionment study by NEERI, secondary aerosol has a 32% contribution in PM2.5 pollution during the winter. Air pollution expert Anumita Roychowdhury, executive director of research and advocacy at Centre for Science and Environment said: “To understand this smog episode so early in winter, we looked deeper and scanned the satellite imagery over the city and the eastern region in 2018. This revealed a very interesting trend in the region. The images showed a higher build-up of sulphur dioxide (SO2) over Kolkata. This SO2 mass is more widespread and encompasses Dhanbad, Durgapur and the surrounding region.” This indicates the influence of vehicular emission, coal burning in power plants and industry. In fact, yet another modelling exercise carried out by the Urban Emissions Info indicated that this particular smog episode in Kolkata had been influenced by power plant emissions and domestic use of solid fuels. But it is interesting that the local ambient SO2 concentration in the city is, however, low. There can be transboundary issues involved here,” she added. Because of the higher proportion of PM2.5 in the ambient air, the air becomes highly toxic. The finer particulate matter goes into the lungs unhindered and gets into the bloodstream. “This is extremely dangerous for Covid patients, who often develop extreme breathing distress. Elderly people must not venture out and can do light exercises at home,” said pulmonologist Arup Haldar.
India is facing two public health emergencies simultaneously: critically polluted air and the pandemic. And Surinder Singh, a bus driver in the capital New Delhi, is trapped between them both. In previous years, the government encouraged more people to use buses that run on cleaner fuels, like the one he drives, as an emergency air quality measure. But this year there are limits on passengers to maintain social distance. The air stings Singh's eyes and he worries about contracting the virus every time a person gets on board. Still reeling from India's harsh lockdown that dried up his $9 daily income for two months, the 47-year-old father of two says he has no choice but to work. Masked and armed with a bottle of hand sanitizer, he starts his journey near a private hospital that is overwhelmed by virus patients. He travels through roads packed with traffic to the city's largest and most frenetic railway station. Content Continues Below “I drive the bus in constant fear," he said. Millions of others are equally desperate in India's historic recession. The economy contracted by 23.9% in the April-June quarter — its worst performance in at least 24 years — and by 7.5% in the next quarter. The virus, meanwhile continues to spread with over 9.7 million cases, and more than 140,000 deaths. And India's underfunded hospitals, already strained by the virus, are also filling up with patients in respiratory distress from air pollution. The pandemic has made emergency measures, such as boosting public transit, harder to implement. And long-term targets, including weaning power plants from dirty fossil fuels, are taking a back seat. India plans to increase coal production to reduce imports, and its recovery plan remains heavily reliant on energy sources that produce carbon emissions. “This pandemic will define the pathway of how we move in the future (to control air pollution),” said Sunil Dahiya, an analyst at the advocacy group Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air. India’s environment ministry did not respond to requests for comment. The dual threat is particularly pronounced in the Indian capital New Delhi, where the annual spike in winter pollution levels has come amid a surge in new COVID-19 cases. The city is among the most polluted in India, where an estimated 1.67 million people die annually from bad air. Dr. Akshay Budhraja, a pulmonologist at a private hospital here, said it was flooded with patients with respiratory distress who thought they had COVID-19. "Patients are very, very anxious," he said. The Delhi pollution gets worse in the fall and winter when the burning of crop debris in neighboring states coincides with cooler temperatures that trap smoke close to the city. Over 76,000 farm fires were spotted by satellites in Punjab state -- the most since 2016 — and Delhi's air quality levels in October were worse than previous years, government data shows. Although the city of 29 million people and 10 million cars is enveloped in smog, authorities have fewer options than before the pandemic. Last year, authorities had restricted some of the capital's private vehicles and increased public transportation. But this year, standing passengers aren't allowed in Delhi's buses, and metro coaches are only allowing about 50 people, compared to a maximum of 300 in the past. Anumita Roychowdhury, a director at the advocacy group Centre for Science and Environment, estimated that public transit is operating at a third of capacity overall. The pandemic also has hindered efforts to clean emissions at coal-fired power plants, which account for 65% of India’s electricity. The government had asked plants to install technology that would remove sulfur dioxide from their emissions by 2022. But after initial delays from problems in getting loans, the pandemic snapped supply chains and made it impossible to import the required equipment, said Ashok Kumar Khurana, who heads the Association of Power Producers. India’s power ministry has sought a deadline extension from the environment ministry while the government has undertaken measures aimed at boosting coal production. In June, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the auction of 40 new coal leases to private miners. Modi described this shift from India's state-controlled coal industry as “freeing the coal sector from decades of lockdown." Last year, the government asked the state-run Coal India to increase the annual production from the current 661 million tons (600 million metric tons) to over a billion tons by 2024. To make the transition to domestic coal easier, it has also waived regulations that mandated a federal environment ministry review if a power plant wanted to change the type of coal being used. Much of India's coal reserves have a high ash content that burns inefficiently and results in increased emissions and air pollution, said Roychowdhury. India is the third-highest emitter of carbon dioxide, behind China and the United States. These are efforts to save “an industry that is already circling the drain,” said Kanika Chawla, an energy policy expert at the New Delhi-based think tank Council on Energy, Environment and Water. Before the pandemic, India's power plants were running below capacity because the growth in power production capacity had outpaced demand. With demand dipping further, Chawla said that the government had an opportunity to pivot away from fossil fuels and accelerate a "just" transition to cleaner fuels. “We were clearly at a crossroad," she said.
NEW DELHI -- India is facing two public health emergencies simultaneously: critically polluted air and the pandemic. And Surinder Singh, a bus driver in the capital New Delhi, is trapped between them both. In previous years, the government encouraged more people to use buses that run on cleaner fuels, like the one he drives, as an emergency air quality measure. But this year there are limits on passengers to maintain social distance. The air stings Singh's eyes and he worries about contracting the virus every time a person gets on board. Still reeling from India’s harsh lockdown that dried up his $9 daily income for two months, the 47-year-old father of two says he has no choice but to work. Masked and armed with a bottle of hand sanitizer, he starts his journey near a private hospital that is overwhelmed by virus patients. He travels through roads packed with traffic to the city’s largest and most frenetic railway station. “I drive the bus in constant fear," he said. Millions of others are equally desperate in India's historic recession. The economy contracted by 23.9% in the April-June quarter — its worst performance in at least 24 years — and by 7.5% in the next quarter. The virus, meanwhile continues to spread with over 9.7 million cases, and more than 140,000 deaths. And India's underfunded hospitals, already strained by the virus, are also filling up with patients in respiratory distress from air pollution. The pandemic has made emergency measures, such as boosting public transit, harder to implement. And long-term targets, including weaning power plants from dirty fossil fuels, are taking a back seat. India plans to increase coal production to reduce imports, and its recovery plan remains heavily reliant on energy sources that produce carbon emissions. “This pandemic will define the pathway of how we move in the future (to control air pollution),” said Sunil Dahiya, an analyst at the advocacy group Centre for Research on Energy and Clean Air. India’s environment ministry did not respond to requests for comment. The dual threat is particularly pronounced in the Indian capital New Delhi, where the annual spike in winter pollution levels has come amid a surge in new COVID-19 cases. The city is among the most polluted in India, where an estimated 1.67 million people die annually from bad air. Dr. Akshay Budhraja, a pulmonologist at a private hospital here, said it was flooded with patients with respiratory distress who thought they had COVID-19. “Patients are very, very anxious,” he said. The Delhi pollution gets worse in the fall and winter when the burning of crop debris in neighboring states coincides with cooler temperatures that trap smoke close to the city. Over 76,000 farm fires were spotted by satellites in Punjab state -- the most since 2016 — and Delhi's air quality levels in October were worse than previous years, government data shows. Although the city of 29 million people and 10 million cars is enveloped in smog, authorities have fewer options than before the pandemic. Last year, authorities had restricted some of the capital’s private vehicles and increased public transportation. But this year, standing passengers aren't allowed in Delhi's buses, and metro coaches are only allowing about 50 people, compared to a maximum of 300 in the past. Anumita Roychowdhury, a director at the advocacy group Centre for Science and Environment, estimated that public transit is operating at a third of capacity overall. The pandemic also has hindered efforts to clean emissions at coal-fired power plants, which account for 65% of India’s electricity. The government had asked plants to install technology that would remove sulfur dioxide from their emissions by 2022. But after initial delays from problems in getting loans, the pandemic snapped supply chains and made it impossible to import the required equipment, said Ashok Kumar Khurana, who heads the Association of Power Producers. India’s power ministry has sought a deadline extension from the environment ministry while the government has undertaken measures aimed at boosting coal production. In June, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi announced the auction of 40 new coal leases to private miners. Modi described this shift from India's state-controlled coal industry as “freeing the coal sector from decades of lockdown." Last year, the government asked the state-run Coal India to increase the annual production from the current 661 million tons (600 million metric tons) to over a billion tons by 2024. To make the transition to domestic coal easier, it has also waived regulations that mandated a federal environment ministry review if a power plant wanted to change the type of coal being used. Much of India's coal reserves have a high ash content that burns inefficiently and results in increased emissions and air pollution, said Roychowdhury. India is the third-highest emitter of carbon dioxide, behind China and the United States. These are efforts to save “an industry that is already circling the drain,” said Kanika Chawla, an energy policy expert at the New Delhi-based think tank Council on Energy, Environment and Water. Before the pandemic, India's power plants were running below capacity because the growth in power production capacity had outpaced demand. With demand dipping further, Chawla said that the government had an opportunity to pivot away from fossil fuels and accelerate a "just" transition to cleaner fuels. “We were clearly at a crossroad," she said.
Sweetness can leave a bitter taste in the mouth. Researchers from the Centre for Science and Environment have alleged that the honey produced by major Indian brands is adulterated with sugar syrup. That is not all; there appears to be a discrepancy in the results of different tests geared towards the same purpose. The environment watchdog had selected 13 popular honey brands to assess the purity of the product. Curiously, while the samples of almost all the big brands tested at the Centre for Analysis and Learning in Livestock and Food in Gujarat were found to be ‘pure’, 10 of the same brands failed the Nuclear Magnetic Resonance test, which is conducted by a specialized laboratory in Germany and is used globally to check for the use of modified sugar syrups. It stands to reason that assessment standards vary. If the NMR test detected adulteration that the checks in Gujarat could not identify, ought not the Central government to adopt the more stringent assessment model for domestic testing since the matter concerns public health? Making the waters murkier are revelations of the import and use of Chinese sugar syrups that are ‘designed’ to avoid detection in tests. The CSE has said that its investigators received a shipment of samples containing syrup from a Chinese company that sought to evade the honey testing protocols mandated by the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India. In the wake of the recent border hostilities, the Union government tom-tommed its ban on a series of Chinese mobile apps as an economic ‘surgical strike’. Yet, it is evident that Chinese syrups continue to be imported by firms; traders even claim that Chinese companies have helped set up sugar syrup factories in India. It appears that the Centre’s economic surgical strike against China may have missed a few targets. The main worry, however, concerns regulatory oversight. The history of weak implementation of adulteration laws in India does not help either; Maggi was banned by the FSSAI in 2015 for allegedly selling lead-laced instant noodles before the government allowed the brand to return to the market. The battle against food fraud must be fought on two fronts. First, there is a case for raising public awareness so that citizens know that the products they are consuming are safe; second, institutional assessment protocols must be uniform to avoid conflicting results. There is also the additional imperative of assisting beekeeping communities — the maulis of the Sunderbans are an example — whose livelihoods have been decimated by the pandemic.
CHANDIGARH:In the present time of COVID-19 when the whole country is reeling under economic slowdown in the Industry and Service Sector, Milkfed is growing by leaps and bounds and executing various projects to expand its handling capacities. This was disclosed here today by the Cooperation Minister Sukhjinder Singh Randhawa while handing over appointment letter to 11 fresh recruits in the field of Production, Quality Control & Procurement against the posts of Assistant Manager. He also launched four variants of Verka natural fruit ice creams on the occasion. Divulging further, the Minister said that the recruitments have been made through Campus Interview at GADVASU Ludhiana. These officers will be put on 2 year’s in-service training and thereafter they will be appointed as Assistant Manager in their respective streams, said S. Randhawa. The Minister further pointed out that development and expansion projects worth Rs.254 Crores are under progress at Jalandhar, Ludhiana, Mohali and Patiala Dairies. Apart from this, Punjab Government and NABARD assisted Mega Dairy Project at Bassi Pathana with total outlay of Rs.138 Crores is likely to be completed by June, 2021. S. Randhawa further said that contrary to most of the ice creams offered by the various ice cream brands using artificial/synthetic fruit flavours, Verka natural fruit ice cream has been manufactured from the finest natural Fruit Pulp and is delicious and healthy. It will be available in four variant flavours i.e. Pink Guava, Strawberry, Litchi, and Mango at Rs. 40 for 125 ml cup, added the Minister. The Minister also revealed that recruitments to 125 posts have been made at Deputy Manager, Assistant Manager and Senior Executive level and in near future, Milkfed will initiate recruitment process to fill 540 technical posts. Emphasizing the quality control aspect, the Financial Commissioner (Cooperation) K. Siva Prasad said that the leading institutions of the cooperative sector viz. Milkfed, Markfed and Sugarfed have rendered yeoman’s service in ensuring supply of essential goods to the people during trying times of Covid-19. In his address, the Registrar, Cooperative Societies, Vikas Garg disclosed that it is a matter of pride that the SOHNA Honey of Markfed figured among the 3 brands who passed the stringent quality control measures of the Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) which tested 13 brands. Managing Director Milkfed Punjab Kamaldeep Singh Sangha informed that Verka had also launched Natural Vanilla Milk last year. For boosting the immunity of people, Verka has launched the extremely popular Haldi Dudh recently, said the MD adding that for the convenience of consumers, the popular PIO has been launched in new PP Bottle and is available at all major retail outlets and verka booths.
The Central Consumer Protection Authority (CCPA) has asked food regulator FSSAI to take appropriate action against adulteration reported in certain honey brands and also extended cooperation for investigation for taking class action. Last week, environment watchdog CSE claimed that honey sold by several major brands in India has been found to be adulterated with sugar syrup. However, the companies have refuted the claims. In an official statement, the consumer affairs ministry expressed concern over the reported adulteration of honey. "It has been reported to the Department that most of the honey brands sold in the market are adulterated with sugar syrup. This is a serious matter as it will compromise our health in the troubled times of COVID-19 and add to the risk of COVID-19," the ministry said. The Department of Consumer Affairs asked CCPA to look into matter, it added. "The CCPA, in accordance with section 19(2) of the Consumer Protection Act 2019, after preliminary examination, has referred the matter to the FSSAI, the food regulator, to take appropriate action in the matter... "...and has offered to extend cooperation in investigation of the matter for taking class action as envisaged in section 10 of the Act," the statement said. A day after the CSE study was released, the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) sought details of the tests, even as it raised questions over why its prescribed tests were not conducted. The FSSAI had stated that the CSE found the adulterants by using "the non-prescription" Trace Marker for Rice syrup (TMR) test instead of "a more sensitive" Specific Marker for Rice syrup test (SMR). The consumer affairs department further said it takes the consumer issues seriously. Recently, it took note of an incident where a 40-year-old man set himself on fire in a Rohini mall and got burn injuries after a mobile phone service centre allegedly refused to replace a phone he had bought for his niece, a class 12th student, for her online classes. The department took up the matter with the mobile phone company concerned. "The mobile company has informed that they have decided to compensate the consumer with Rs 1,00,000/- and a new Mobile handset," the statement said. It further said it was observed that some e-commerce entities were violating the mandatory requirement of declaration of product information on their platforms. "Therefore, notices have been issued to various e-commerce entities for non-compliances," the statement said. The Legal Metrology (Packaged Commodities) Rules, 2011 are framed to regulate the pre-packaged commodities. Under these rules, the pre-packaged commodities have to comply with certain mandatory information on e-commerce platform by the seller in the interest of consumers. The Department of Consumer Affairs, under the Ministry of Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution, is the nodal department for consumer protection. The Consumer Protection Act, 2019 has came into force from July, 20 2020, which provides for a three tier quasi-judicial machinery to provide simple and speedy redressal to consumer disputes. The CCPA has been established to regulate matters relating to violation of rights of consumers, unfair trade practices and false or misleading advertisements which are prejudicial to the interests of public and to promote, protect and enforce the rights of consumer as a class.
In an interaction with Moneycontrol, Programme Director of the CSE’s Food Safety and Toxins Amit Khurana said Indian standards are not enough to detect adulteration in honey. The Centre for Science and Environment's (CSE's) findings of adulteration in honey by major brands have sparked a silent tussle between the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) and the NGO. In an interaction with Moneycontrol, Amit Khurana, Programme Director of the CSE’s Food Safety and Toxins, said Indian standards are not enough to detect adulteration. “Indian testing standards are not good enough that is why most of the brands are there in India who have failed in advanced testing done in Germany.” He said strengthening these standards is required. “Despite set standards, we do not know whether the FSSAI has been testing. The results are not in the public domain," Khurana added. The recent findings by the NGO that honey, which is a natural product from bees, is mixed with sugar syrup made from rice, corn, beetroot, and sugarcane and sold as pure honey, do not bode well for the bee-keeping industry. The CSE food researchers took 13 bigger and smaller brands of processed and raw honey that are sold in India to check their purity. The study found that 77 percent of honey samples were adulterated with sugar syrup. Only 3 out of the 13 brands - Marico’s Saffola, Markfed Sohna and Nature's Nectar (one out of two samples) - passed all the tests. Brands that failed the purity test for honey include well-known names like Dabur, Patanjali, Baidyanath, Zandu, Hitkari, and Apis Himalaya. “Out of the 22 samples checked, only five passed all the tests. Honey samples from leading brands such as Dabur, Patanjali, Baidyanath, Zandu, Hitkari and Apis Himalaya, all failed the NMR (Nuclear Magnetic Resonance) test," the study said. Samples of these brands were first tested by the CSE at the Centre for Analysis and Learning in Livestock and Food (CALF) at the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) in Gujarat. All the top brands passed the tests of purity, while a few brands failed the tests to detect C4 sugar. But when the same samples were tested using NMR in a specialised laboratory in Germany, almost all big and small Indian honey brands were found to be selling adulterated honey. Most companies refuted the adulteration claims. Dabur, in its statement to media, said: “Dabur is complying with the 22 parameters mandated by the FSSAI. In addition, Dabur Honey is also tested for the presence of antibiotics, as mandated by the FSSAI. Further, Dabur is the only company in India to have an NMR testing equipment in our own laboratory, and the same is used to regularly test our Honey being sold in the Indian market.”
Awaaz Samachar : Demand from FSSAI to cooperate in the investigation of the case. CSE disclose
After the Delhi government launched the mobile app on October 29, about 1,700 complaints were received about illegal dumping of C&D waste by December 1. As per the government data, more than 1,650 complaints were received about potholes, 1,050 complaints about road dust and about 700 complaints about dust pollution due to construction activities in the same period. Though the government had announced a plan for edge-to-edge paving and greening of all roads, to control dust pollution, the work has not been completed. “The government is conducting regular checks. But the people should be also proactive and report violations on the Green Delhi app. We have a dedicated team working to solve issues,” the official said.
14-fold rise in pollution in four months after return of cars KOLKATA: The worst pollutant in Kolkata’s air — PM2.5 — has increased 14 times in four months. In twin city Howrah, it has increased 11 times during the period, undoing the cleansing of the ambient air during the prolonged lockdown just months earlier. Track the pollution level in your city Kolkata has experienced its worst week and peak in last two years so far with PM 2.5 level exceeding “severe” threshold at the city station at Rabindra Bharati University on December 4. Rest of the city remained in very poor category .There were three days this winter in Howrah and one day in Kolkata when the PM 2.5 levels were higher than Delhi. silent killer gfx “This is a typical and predictable winter trend when continuous emissions from local sources including vehicles, industry, construction, and episodic pollution from biomass burning get trapped due to meteorological changes. But this year, there is a higher pollution peak and substantial jump after the reopening of the economy,” said Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) executive director (research and advocacy) Anumita Roychowdhury. Analysis revealed that even though the overall average level of PM2.5 for the 11 months in 2020 was considerably lower than 2019, largely because of the unprecedented economic disruption during the summer lockdown and monsoonal reopening of the economy, the onset of the winter trapping pollution has forced PM 2.5 levels spiral upward in November and it has hit a record high in early December. In the absence of system changes in controlling pollution from vehicles, industry, power plants and waste, the transient change of the lockdown phases could not be sustained and air quality got more toxic with the onset of winter. Avikal Somvanshi, programme manager in CSE’s urban lab team of sustainable cities programme, said the share of PM2.5 was 50% higher than usually summer levels. The onset of winter has also seen the percentage share of PM2.5 increase to over 60%. The share of PM2.5 is generally highest on Diwali (it had reached over 80% in 2019), but due to lesser bursting of firecrackers this year, it remained in the mid 50s. This year, Diwali pollution from firecrackers was considerably lower. The average PM2.5 level on Diwali day in Kolkata was 89 µg/m3, down from 123 µg/m3 recorded in 2019. But, pollution did not dissipate and the daily PM2.5 level rose to 110 µg/m3 on November 17, 2020 due to meteorological factors. Also, unlike previous years, there was about 80% lesser change in hourly PM2.5 concentration between the afternoon and the night of Diwali (this is mostly caused due to firecracker bursting). The change in hourly PM2.5 concentration between afternoon and night of 2020 Diwali was 136 µg/m3, down from 642 µg/m3 in 2019 and 751 µg/m3 in 2018.
A recent report by Delhi-based Centre for Science and Environment claims honey sold by major brands in India is adulterated. That does set the cat among the pigeons. India is a major exporter of honey, and the report has a bearing on India’s reputation abroad. Further, it calls into question the efficacy of the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI): all the brands in question bear its stamp of quality. In the interest of consumer welfare, Indian export growth and brand authenticity, the government must institute a thorough inquiry into the quality of the honey sold under different brand names in India. Indian standards for food are, by and large, on par with global norms. It is in enforcing standards that there is a lag. In part, this is because of a large and unorganised food industry that makes up the supply chain even for organised manufacturers, as we see in the case of honey (whether it is the use of sugar syrup or presence of antibiotics and other impurities). The FSSAI needs to step up its efforts to ensure compliance across the value chain. Further, it must educate the public on things such as the relevance of nuclear magnetic resonance testing for honey, especially when it is collected from multiple varieties of plants and is guaranteed to be non-homogeneous in composition. The demands of health and safety of consumers, the need to ensure confidence in products available in the market, and protection of shareholder value of companies manufacturing these products call for far greater focus on the manner in which food safety norms are implemented and compliance ensured. FSSAI must itself come under effective supervision, answering to a committee of Parliament. That would shore up necessary public faith in the regulator.