It is quite natural for someone to wonder where so many roadside vendors in Dhaka have got the supply of so many luscious looking ripe mangoes even before the month of Baishakh was over.
If these vendors are asked that question they have a reply ready: “These mangoes are from Satkhira. They ripen early.”
Wondering might be natural, but the story behind this premature mangoes is far from being so – it is just another example of the extreme greed of a group of businessmen and utter negligence of the administration that have put public health at stake.
The mangoes that are seen in plenty on the streets of Dhaka are nothing but immature fruits, plucked freshly from the trees and treated with harmful chemicals to look ripe and hence, sellable.
The only thing true about them is that they are from Satkhira.
Tactfully dodging law, a section of mango traders in some of the markets including Sultanpur Borobazar, spray toxic substances on premature mangoes.
The Dhaka Tribune found that that the traders apply the chemicals even in broad daylight.
In a number of local markets in Satkhira, traders dry up mangoes by hoarding them in their warehouses after applying a coating of chemicals. The chemical makes the mango ripen quickly and brings out the colour.
The chemical also prevents the mango from rotting anytime soon so that it can be easily brought to Dhaka.
The local breed of mangoes generally begins to ripen at the beginning of the Bangla month of Jyoishtha or towards mid-May. Dhaka people generally get to buy these mangoes by the end of May.
It was learnt that at the onset of mango season in late April, hundreds of mango traders from around the country went to Satkhira to buy the summer fruit.
There are allegations that they had bought large quantities of rotten or green mangoes and sprayed chemicals on them with the intention of making a profit.
Some influential business leaders of the Borobazar Kitchen Market are allegedly assisting the traders in such acts.
Locals alleged that law enforcers sometimes protect some of these dishonest traders.
One of these mango traders, seeking anonymity, said: “There is nothing to hide. I have paid the association leaders Tk10,000 for storing the mango. They are the ones who bribe law enforcers. That’s why I know for sure that police would turn a blind eye towards what’s going on.”
When contacted, Sultanpur Borobazar Kitchen Market Traders Association President Kazi Kabirul Hasan Badsha claimed that they had urged all the traders to not treat the fruits with chemicals.
“If we find someone spraying chemical, we will definitely take appropriate actions against him,” he said.
Rowshan Ali, general secretary of the association, however, denied the allegations.
“Nothing like that is happening here,” he claimed.