Two and a half tonnes of Gobindabhog mangoes ripened with chemicals have been seized in Kaliganj, Satkhira. They were then crushed under the wheels of a pickup.

The mangoes were destroyed at 8.30pm on Saturday (15 April) at Sohrawardy Park in the upazila, in the presence of Assistant Commissioner (Land) and Executive Magistrate Md Azahar Ali. Earlier, locals seized the pickup-load of mangoes near Moutala Bazar and handed it over to the police. Upazila Agriculture Officer Wasim Uddin and Kaliganj police Sub-Inspector Nakib Pannu, among others, were present when the mangoes were destroyed.

Moutala Union Parishad chairman Ferdaus Morol said: "We had a tip-off that a pickup-load of immature mangoes ripened with chemicals was being sent to Dhaka. On that basis the mangoes were seized near Moutala Bazar and handed to the police."

Executive Magistrate Azahar Ali told Jagonews: "Before the season has begun, dishonest traders hoping for bigger profits have started ripening mangoes with chemicals, selling them and sending them to Dhaka. It is not yet time for these mangoes to ripen. They look ripe from outside but are actually immature; raw mangoes have been ripened with chemicals. These mangoes are seriously harmful to the human body. Such drives will continue."

Source: Jagonews24. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.