Navyendu Hazra: Suyimama was in the middle of the sky. The temperature touched forty-two degrees. Even though Esplanade Square is empty, there is a hustle and bustle in the Lassi-Sharbat shops there. Glass starts from thirty, right up to eighty. The process of cooling the syrup is going on by crushing the ice tea. A businessman there said that there is a huge demand for ice in this summer. The price has also gone up a bit. Moreover, not only sorbet, fish and meat are also kept fresh in this ice. The ice mills are not able to cool down.
Along with the scorching heat, the sale of sherbet, lassi, lemon juice has increased on the streets of the city. Thousands of pedestrians are soaking in the sun. But by virtue of which the drink is getting cold, it is poison. Commercial ice is freely mixed in syrups, drinks, ignoring all restrictions. The sherbet is chilled in the same ice used for preserving fish, meat and carcasses instead of using edible ice cubes. Everyone from children to adults are quenching their thirst by eating in the hot sun.
[আরও পড়ুন: জঙ্গি নজরে অভিষেক! বিস্ফোরক তথ্য কলকাতা পুলিশের হাতে]
I was talking to a sherbet seller in Esplanade square. According to him, a large part of the ice used in the street Sharbat or lemonade shops of the city comes from the Rajabazar ice mill. This commercial ice goes from there to the fish market. The price of ice cubes is much higher than this ice. So usually roadside lassi, sorbet shops tend to buy iced tea.
Even on Saturday afternoon, the Ganeshchandra Avenue footpath saw a throng of businessmen to buy ice. The conversation started with the ice seller. It is known that he gets ice tea from several ice mills here. There is a queue to buy anything from early morning. Ice cubes are also available. They go to local bars. Thousands of kg of ice are carried by retail syrup sellers. According to him, the price of ice has increased. Especially the ice cube. The price of one kg ice cube is 20 rupees. There, the price of one kg of commercial ice is Rs.6. The price of 120 kg of iced tea is Rs. 800. Since the prices vary so much, traders use this ice for everything from keeping fish and meat fresh to making syrups.
[আরও পড়ুন: ‘রায়ে খুশি নই’, হাই কোর্টের নির্দেশ চ্যালেঞ্জ করে সুপ্রিম কোর্টে যাচ্ছে SSC]
From Esplanade, Park Street to Shyambazar, Girish Park, Jadavpur, Gariahat, it can be seen that commercial ice is being used in roadside syrup shops everywhere. But these shopkeepers are unwilling to accept that it is illegal. Experts say, this ice is not made from filtered drinking water. So the price is low. A shopkeeper in Chandni Chatwar said that buying a commercial iced small tea costs 400 rupees. It weighs about 60 kg. About five hundred glasses of lassi are made from it. So buy this ice. That’s what most stores buy.
Doctors say that consumption of commercial ice creams made from dirty and bad water increases the risk of water-borne diseases like tuberculosis and cholera. Besides, other diseases are also possible. The administration should pay attention to this. It is true that the municipality conducts raids occasionally, but only for a day or two. After that, whoever it is. Not just street sherbet. Sugarcane juice is also given this commercial ice used to preserve fish and meat. And without knowing it, we quench our thirst by soaking our throats in that juice. What does the administration say? An official of the food safety branch of the health department said that we have a special team along with the municipality to monitor this matter. They also conduct raids in cities and districts. Punitive action has also been taken against many shopkeepers in many cases.
