ISLAMABAD, Oct 1: The centre has directed all provincial governments and the Islamabad Capital Territory (ICT) administration to take effective steps to stop sale of acid-soaked ginger which is stated to be on the rise these days due to high consumption of the root-spice in Ramazan, an official source told Dawn on Sunday.
The source said Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz has expressed concern over unchecked business of acid-washed ginger in different parts of the country, including the capital.
The prime minister also ordered an inquiry at provincial and federal levels on the business and desired that the reports should be sent to the Prime Minister’s Secretariat in two weeks.
Meanwhile, the administration of Islamabad claimed that it had completely stopped the acid treatment of ginger in the capital and those who were expelled from Islamabad had resumed washing ginger with acid in some parts of Rawalpindi.
The source said the prime minister also expressed concern over a report that bulks of the injurious root spice had been supplied in bulk to the markets of major cities, including Islamabad, Karachi, Lahore and Northern Areas in the holy month of Ramazan.
According to a report, people involved in the business kept ginger dipped in sulphuric acid for at least 10 days so that it became cleaner and five times heavier.
As a result, they made five times as much money, for example a consignment of Rs100,000 is sold for Rs500,000.
The business of harmful ginger had reportedly been controlled to some extent in the country some three months ago when the issue was highlighted in the media.
However, as the issue cooled down the illegal and life-threatening business is once again on the rise.
According to a letter sent by Deputy Commissioner Islamabad Chaudhry Mohammad Ali to the City District Government Rawalpindi (CDGR), the latter was intimated that some people in Pir Vedhai and its adjacent localities of Katchi Abadi, Bangash Colony and Ziaul Haq Colony were running small factories from where the hazardous ginger was supplied to different parts of the country, including the Northern Areas.
