Was Maggi the only harmful eatery left in India?

1275th BLOG POST -->>

     The Maggi controversy is blown out of proportion, isn't it? May be you won't feel exactly the way I am feeling about this as you care about your family members and can't imagine them in a harmful situation because they have been a Maggi lover until now. I remember similar emails in my profile some 3-4 years ago about how McDonald's isn't safe. The emails used to contain the way McDonald's treats chickens and goose before killing them so that they can stuff their meat in their burgers. Rewinding my life little more, I remember how my parents and all the elders in my colonies started asking all the children to stop drinking cold drinks. Whenever we asked for answers, they only told us that it's pesticide that can be used to clean our toilets. They also threw a light upon how cold-drinks are made in unhygienic conditions. 

     

          But has McDonald's or Cold drinks been banned or taken away from our markets? No. They are still there and doing very well. Every time I visit DMart or Big Bazaar, I find a cold drink in almost every cart. Every time, I visit a McDonald's, I always find it hard to get a table and wait for at least 5-10 minutes before I get one. Similar is the case with Maggi. Though it is been made a point of debate every night on every news channels, it will be ubiquitous once these high decibel voices lose their momentum. 

            It is said that Maggi contains 7 times more lead than allowed in its packaging available for end consumers. It also contains high amount of MSG which is equally harmful. This news has created a big uproar in India and Nestle had to ask all the stores to return back the packets to them. If someone must have visited India for the first time this week, he must be thinking that everything else in India is hygienic and only Maggi violated the said line and it needs to be hanged till death. Don't we Indians know that everything we eat has high probability of being harmful as even eatables are a tool for corruption in our nation? Then why are we over-reacting only at Nestle's Maggi?

             If you will read more, you will come to know that almost 20% of ayurvedic medicines consists of heavy metals such as lead. The paints that our walls at home flaunt also consists of high amount of lead which will cause more harm to your child's health when he licks it than consuming Maggi? It is said that Maggi didn't include both these things in their ingredients' list on the packet which also violates the rule. But that almost 75% of the companies in FMCG fields are doing. Why take up only Maggi?

              I remember going to vegetable market where vegetables are available in affordable cost. Whenever we used to argue with the vendors about vegetables being of very bad quality or almost rotten, he would proudly say,"Do not take it, sahaab, if you don't want. Hotelwallahs are going to take all of this after you'll leave". And I used to get surprised that how can the hotels prepare food items with such rotten vegetables that we never get to know about it through taste or smell. I have also seen hotelwallahs taking away 20-25 kgs of rotten tomatoes in their tempos after 8 PM in half cost. We had also heard about that case of Pani-puri wallah who peed in the same bowl by which he filled pani in the puris of his customers. We also read about how small particles of human excrete was found in chaat or something in Delhi. Everyone is aware of such roadside eateries but do we resist eating a samosa, vada-pav, bhel or pani-puri? 

           We see reports every Diwali and Holi on our Hindi news channels about how sweets are made with powder and stuffs that we would not even touch, leave eating. We also have read about how harmful chemicals are injected into our vegetables and fruits so that they reap faster and become salable. Have we stopped buying them? We have also heard about how pav is made by men standing upon the dough. Similarly, about Haldiram's production style has been questioned. Every thing in India that's available for eating is harmful. Maggi is just been made a victim to hide all of these that we are consuming daily. It seems as if our egos will get a new heights after seeing Maggi get banned that now harmful eatery products are just a myth in India. Grow Up, India. Wake Up, India. Let's not target a MNC and look deeper into the whole system that's corrupt and even carelessness and avoidance of our attitude whenever we eat from roadsides or in hotels. Go, check the kitchen of your favorite restaurant or the place where the utensils are washed after you end up eating misal-pav. You will go and consume 5 packets of Maggi rather than visiting the same restaurant or pani-puri wallah again. I challenge!

          I am not supporting Maggi but I am saying similar outrage should be made against these products and eateries too. 

 Thanks.

 ABHILASH RUHELA - VEERU!!!