Storage Act to be restored

Delhi Vegetable Oil Traders Association president Lakshmichand Agarwal who led the team said that “the Act would cripple whatever remains of the oil supply line to Delhi besides worsening the ongoing Inspector Raj”. The minister also rejected their demand to put off the Act for at least two months in view of the forthcoming festival season and the current shortage.

The minster has however agreed to discuss the modalities of enforcing the Act with the traders’ representatives at a meeting on Wednesday. “There is no oil being manufactured in Delhi and whatever little was there has stopped after the epidemic. The flow from outside Delhi has also become less because of the intensive sampling and strict checking. A control license through this Act will terminate the supply line,” Agarwal said. As for the current mood of fear gripping traders, Agarwal said he told the minister that the harassment of traders by the police would ensure that oil disappears from the market in four or five days.

The minister assured them that the oil prices would be controlled, but that cannot really help in restoring the demand supply equation which is the need of the hour at a time when the traders are wary of buying and mills are afraid of supplying oil.

Food Commissioner Sethuraman said that the restoration of the Act had nothing to do with the spread of dropsy. It was suggested by the State Government earlier in view of the upward trend in oil prices to prevent hoarding.

As for the Act hitting oil supply at a time of shortages owing to the epidemic, Sethuraman said that the Act would discourage hoarding of old stocks by traders and keep the trade going.

The traders also requested the minister to declare to the public through the print and electronic media those brands of mustard oil which have been proved to be safe, Agarwal said.

In the meanwhile, oil technology experts have questioned the method of testing and the results of the analysis arrived at at the laboratories of the VOP Directorate, PFA and NCT, Delhi. S.C. Singhal, former president, Oil Technologists Association of India said the government agencies were not following the prescribed test of Paper Chromotography as mentioned in the Standards of BIS and followed by the industry. They were following the Thin Layer Chromotology test that shows different results.

Tests can falsely show that traces of argemone exist even if no argemone is used, they said. This has been confirmed by testing adulterated vanaspati by GLC where no mustard oil was detected even in traces.

Therefore the experts feel that the present panic created in respect of vanaspati is unjustified.