Anti-formalin drive

Experts, especially agricultural scientists, have raised some pertinent questions about the methods used as well as the efficacy of the drive launched by police and mobile courts against toxic preservative or ripening agent-added fruits in the city.
While the Department of Fisheries (DoF) has already had an understanding with the BSCIR to buy some 16, 000 appropriate formalin detection kits from the latter, they questioned the wisdom of using the imported device, which is meant for use in laboratories.
Seeing that toxic chemical-treated fruits and various kitchen market commodities including vegetables and fish are posing a serious threat to public health, it was very natural that people in general welcomed the drive against it. Clearly, however, the ongoing drive against toxic preservative or ripening agent-treated fruits or other perishables has started in an adhocist manner without proper planning or result-oriented approach. Neither is the drive backed by an expert committee to oversee it, nor guide it. Obviously, the drive, in its present form, runs the risk of not only being wasteful or losing purpose, it may also become counterproductive.
Now that the 'ongoing anti-formalin' campaign has come under scrutiny by agriculturists, people concerned in the relevant ministry and business leaders, we hope the government will form an expert committee to oversee the drive in a well-planned, coordinated and result-oriented manner. At the same, it should recommend well-thought-out measures to contain the menace effectively.