Gilgit (C.R. Akbar Shah): There are nearly 60 products including different brands of cooking oil and ghee banned by the government in Gilgit-Baltistan due to their substandard quality. Nevertheless, their sale is in full swing without any check from the authorities.
The substandard cooking oil and ghee are used in more than 50% of the hotels in Gilgit-Baltistan. Concerned departments claim to conduct regular raids to check the sale of substandard products. But, such measures have failed to stop the sale of low-quality products across Gilgit-Baltistan.
The increasing trend of health issues related to heart and cancer is attributed to the consumption of goods in the name of popular brands. Poverty-stricken people of GB cannot afford to buy quality goods due to high prices. They feel left with no option but to buy low-quality products thereby contracting different diseases.
To aggravate the problem further, control and food security departments do not exist in Gilgit-Baltistan subjecting 2.2 billion people to unhealthy consumption.
GB is one of the tourist attraction areas in Pakistan. Tourists also have a complaint about problems caused by meals prepared with the use of substandard ghee and cooking oil but to no avail.
It is high time for the local administration to devise a proper mechanism and implement a ban on substandard products to ensure a healthy Gilgit-Baltistan.
