CS to write to UP counterpart on sale of adulterated milk products in border dists

Dehradun: Chief secretary (CS) Radha Raturi has decided to write a letter to her counterpart in UP, proposing joint monitoring and enforcement operations to prevent the sale of adulterated milk and food products in the districts along the border of both states.
With the festive season approaching, she has also instructed officials to conduct random inspections and raids at all such locations.
During a meeting on Tuesday, Raturi was informed that a case had beenfiled against 20 people for selling adulterated food on the Char Dham route, and a challan of Rs 3.3 lakh was imposed on 9 dealers. Additionally, 1,418 food establishments were inspected, and 190 legal and 519 surveillance samples were collected for testing. The on-spot testing revealed that 529 products were “genuine”, while 72 did not meet the required standards.
Raturi has also set a two-month deadline for the operation of the Garhwal division’s food testing lab. The process for the lab is ongoing, and the govt has already approved 13 posts for this purpose. A proposal of Rs 13 crore has been submitted to the Union govt for the same.
Besides this, Raturi directed authorities to expedite the work of setting up an ultra-modern microbiological food lab in Rudrapur and ensure the availability of latest equipment in the lab.