Formalin in fish
I had attended a recent get-together, where the hosts treated us a dish prepared from ‘Rohu’ fish as a part of the menu. Although they took every pain to treat the guests to sumptuous meals, their labour went down the drain as I suspected the fish was probably laced with Formalin. It was established with the characteristic foul smell from the fish and the after taste and heartburns lasting hours thereafter.
Formalin, known as Formaldehyde or Methanal in its gaseous form, is a colorless, flammable and strong smelling chemical having many industrial uses, also commonly used as a preservative in medical laboratories, mortuaries, and consumer products. When the contaminated food is cooked and eaten, it gives foul characteristic smell and the after taste remains for hours. Various levels of Formalin in human beings can trigger nausea, asthma attacks, watery eyes, headaches, respiratory irritation and difficulty in breathing etc. However, some unscrupulous people have played with the health of human beings by using Formalin to treat fish besides chicken and milk products and fruits and nuts to some extent, to prolong the shelf life (it can prevent fish from rotting by 15 to 20 days).
It would be interest of the health and safety of the consumers in Goa that the concerned authorities look into the matter at the earliest, take preventive measures and bring the facts into the public domain.
Pankaj S, Ponda
Biased awards?
A quick perusal of the list of Padma awardees for 2016 makes it clear that these civilian awards are still "loyalty awards", in the actual sense. It is no hidden fact that lobbying and the Union Government's grace is required to be a part of the Padma awardees. Anupam Kher and Sri Sri Ravishankar are both individuals who have contributed towards their respective fields in their own right. But the fact that Kher tried to defend the Prime Minister during the "intolerance" debate and that Sri Sri Ravishankar also is a supporter of the PM, cannot be ignored. It would we welcome if the number of Padma Awards given away every year is reduced.
K B Dessai, Fatorda
More competition for national parties
On the eve of the assembly elections scheduled for 2017 there has been yet another political party that has been announced in the state. The newly-launched Goa Forward, has assured a lot of freebies among other commitments categorized under general welfare, land resources, employment and governance. The main aim of the new party appears to be the ouster of the BJP and has expressed its readiness to work with other political parties and individuals to attain this end. In past the state has witnessed the launch of several political parties on the eve of assembly elections. Incidentally many of these parties which were launched in the past have not grown up in a big way and did not have much impact on the political scenario in the state. It remains to be seen whether the new outfit will make any difference. The fact remains that the regional parties will give the national parties a run for their money in the 2017 assembly elections.
Adelmo Fernandes, Vasco
