High on whitener, low on health

As the three kids entered the crowded bus in New Delhi railway station, the conductor at once grabbed them for tickets. Their untidy clothes and blank faces made him guess that they were ticketless passengers. The boys, ages 10 to 14, looked unaffected. They seemed accustomed to the rough handling. Closer scrutiny revealed that they were in some kind of stupor. 

The youngest who was bare-chested held his shirt close to his mouth constantly inhaling from it. The eldest after the brief scuffle with the conductor joined his partner taking out a folded handkerchief from his pocket. It contained the intoxicant. All through their half-hour journey from New Delhi Railway station to Nizamudin, they kept their pieces of cloths close to their mouths. As if it was their life. 

The other passengers in the bus seemed unconcerned. One of the boys who felt that the effect had lessened took out a white tube from his pocket and squeezed some transparent liquid on his piece of cloth, quickly slipping the tube back to his pocket. 

The tube contained whitener - a white fluid used to erase errors in handwritten, printed papers. It is increasingly being used by street children as an addiction. The addicts who are mostly adolescents sniff it. 

I could no longer hold myself and I enquired about their whereabouts. The eldest who seemed their head called himself Yasin. He said that he lived in Nizamudin in South Delhi with his elder brother who was a rickshaw-puller. His two friends were his neighbours. His voice was hoarse and manly unsuited to his age. And he spoke with a lot of effort. 

He revealed that the piece of cloth contained whitener which they bought from Nizammudin. For the people living in the capital, the sight of poor street urchins is not a very uncommon one. Many among them are also aware of the addictions that these people get into very early in life. 

What is more worrying is that whitener addiction in juveniles is increasingly being associated with crimes. 

300% more harmful than alcohol

Inhaling the substance is many times more harmful than alcohol, say health experts.

Dr Dnyaneshwari Patharkar of Go India Foundation says that inhaling whiteners is 300 per cent more harmful than regular alcohol because it directly affects the nervous system and hampers functioning of lungs, brain and kidneys.

 

Interestingly, the substance is not covered under the Narcotics Drugs and Psychotropic Substances (NDPS) Act and therefore the police are finding it difficult to tackle this menace. The police cannot stop it sale as it is a stationery product that is easily available in the market. It is the shopkeepers who have to limit its sale to students and office-goers.

A 15 ml bottle of whitener along with a diluter of the same quantity costs around Rs 25-30.

Bootlegging in Delhi

The village of Brahmpuri, in South West Delhi, is still in a state of shock. Villagers say 16 people have died there recently after drinking spurious liquor.

Police disagree on what caused the deaths of those residents. The people differ and say the police are not doing enough to protect them. Here's a report...

Safe food, tasty food during Commonwealth

A waiter posse beside a hoarding of Indian paranthas. Pix: Dipu Shaw

The Delhi Government is coming up with new regulatory measures ahead of the 2010 Commonwealth Games. After the decision to clear the city’s roads with beggars, the latest in the row is a new project to upgrade the eateries and roadside dhabas.

‘The Safe Food, Tasty Food’ project of the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) will look to provide framework for holding food establishments accountable for acceptable levels of safety and quality of food served in the capital.

The Quality Council of India will also certify 1000 eateries in the city that would follow International standards. These eateries will be listed in the “recommended list” of restaurants for the visiting foreign tourists.

Under the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006, the FSSAI will put “appropriate pressure on the food establishments to improve their safety and quality by making adherence to the required standard mandatory”.

The FSSAI as well plans to design a suitable Logo, Portal and Signage for adoption before the games. This will enable visitors to identify places where they can have a taste of traditional Indian delicacies, without worrying much about their health.

The Delhi Government is eager to portray Delhi as a hygienic and safe food destination and that it cares for the quality and safety of life in the National Capital.

Studies on the hygiene of fast-food restaurants in Delhi have pointed out that the city’s street food is not all that healthy.

The Government has already undertaken the preliminary work required for improving their safety according to basic minimum parameters which are already identified. It is all set to turn the capital's cheap, mouth-watering variety of ready-to-eat street foods into a safe and hygienic experience.

Authorities will not only monitor the quality of food and water sources but also create proper garbage disposal, sanitation facilities and a process of control on street food sales on mutually acceptable terms.

The MINI INDIA SHOW

Do you want a taste of the cultural diversity of India without necessarily worrying about going round the vast country? Well, the 28th India International Trade Fair (IITF) is one place to have the experience. You can also get a glimpse of few other countries in the process.

The 14-day Trade Fair is into its second week now. Just like the previous years, this year too, the “mini India show” is getting a very good response from the public. Infrastructure development in India and women’s empowerment are the two focal themes of the present fair, with Orissa as the partner state and Kerala as the focus state.

Organized by Indian Government’s nodal trade promotion agency India Trade Promotion Organisation (ITPO), IITF has had a history spanning more than two decades. Ever since its inception in 1980, the trade fair has proved to be a major crowd puller for consumers as well as traders, manufacturers, exporters and importers.
In tune with the government's commitment to promote closer ties with its neighbouring countries, Pakistan has been accorded Partner Country status while 'ASEAN' countries have been selected as the Focus Region at IITF' 08.

Pakistan’s participation as a partner nation is a special attraction in this year’s fair. The Pakistani exhibitors have managed to do good business. Ilahi Baksh, an exhibitor from Suad in Pakistan has rare varieties of traditional Pakistani and Afghan shawls that are much in demand with the Indian buyers. “The response is good. Even on the first day the number of customers was more than what we expected”, he says.

Pakistan has got maximum space among the foreign countries to display its products. However, a number of stalls allotted to the partner country were empty on the first day of the fair. “Our stuff is lying with the custom authorities, so what can we offer to the visitors”, said a frustrated Mohammed Rafiq, a businessman from Pakistan.



The businessmen who have got their stuff are already doing brisk business. Customers are flocking in for the unique collection of Pakistani fabrics and a taste of the partner country’s cuisines.