Could milk adulteration racket averted?

Western Maharashtra was shocked in the first week of August when a major racket of milk adulteration was unearthed. A combined raid by district food and adulteration administrations of Pune and Satara was carried out in Baramati and Phaltan. According to latest report, all eight samples of milk collected during the raids have been tested positive for adulteration. The question is: can this racket be avoided? And answer is: yes.

According to preliminary estimates, the milk which was prepared in the collection centres in above two talukas was supplied to Pune, Sangli, Satara, Ahmednagar and Solapur. The milk in those collection centres was prepared by mixing chemicals with water. Officials are still unsure what this chemical really is. Its lab test report is yet to be received. The culprits are suspected to have amassed crores of rupees through this mean.

Now we go back to 2004-05 when Ajit Pawar, city's guardian minister had warned against the milk adulteration. He had said then that state government will enact a law providing strict punishment for milk adulteration. Five years have gone by and nothing sort of the thing has come by. Had the government acted on the matter, the racket could have been easily avoided.