DAO instructs police to arrest Anamol proprietor

KATHMANDU, Sept 7: Kathmandu District Administration Office (DAO) directed the police to immediately arrest the proprietor of Anamol Sweets that was found using substandard vegetable ghee for making sweets.



A DAO team raided different outlets and production units of Anamol Sweets last week, responding to complaints against the use of low-quality ghee in the sweets.[break]



“I have instructed Kathmandu District Police Range (KDPR) to immediately begin an investigation into Anamol Sweets under the Black Marketeering Act as the report submitted by the Department of Food Technology and Quality Control (DFTQC) shows that the sweet producer used low-grade vegetable ghee to cheat the consumer,” said Laxmi Prasad Dhakal, chief district officer of Kathmandu, on Tuesday.



Though the preliminary investigation suspected the use of animal fat in Anamol sweets, DFTQC´s final investigation suggested that the sweets were produced by using sub-standard vegetable ghee that contained low-level of purity.



“Our report, which we submitted to DAO, Kathmandu, found that Anamol Sweets has been cheating consumers by using low-grade vegetable ghee in which ghee content is far lower than the pure ghee,” said Jeevan Prabha Lama, director general of DFTQC.



Responding to DAO instructions, KDPR has initiated the process to file a cases against Anamol Sweets and arrest its proprietor.



“As directed by DAO, we will immediately nab Anamol´s proprietor and file a case under the Black Marketeering Act. But, before this, we have to confirm the name of the proprietor with the Company Registrar Office, Kathmandu,” said Kedar Rijal, Superintendent of DPR, Kathmandu. However, preliminary investigation shows the proprietor of Anamol Sweets is BL Sharma.



In a raid, a market monitoring team led by a senior official of DAO had found 10 tins (11kg per tin) of sub-standard vegetable ghee and 100 packets of spices in the Anamol Sweets production unit and showroom in Bhatbhateni last Tuesday. The team comprised of representatives from Nepal Bureau of Standard and Metrology (NBSM), DFTQC and consumer rights organizations.



Department of Commerce (DoC) had on Monday sealed Corner Taja Gudpak Bhandar and Shree Krishna Gudpak Bhandar -- two most popular gudpak sellers in the city -- on Monday after they were found using rotten, outdated and substandard raw materials apart from recycling the date-expired Gudpak.



The DoC has directed to the two firms to come up with clarification within three days.



Meanwhile, DOC has directed sweets shops that were found operating in unhygienic environment and using low grade materials to make sweets to improve their operating standards within ten days.



“We have sought clarification from them and directed them to upgrade the quality of foods and production units within ten days,” said Anil Kumar Thakur, director general of DoC, told Republica. He said stringent action is not possible in absence of set guidelines for restaurants.

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