There is no reason to think that they are selling these formalin-treated and other poisonous items at a reasonable rate. Rather, we are buying death or deadly diseases and that too, at a very high price. Recently, 6.5 tonne of formalin-treated fishes have been recovered in only one raid in Dhaka city. Just imagine how many more tons of formalin-treated fishes have been consumed by us.

Reportedly, 98 per cent of the fish available in the markets are treated with formalin and other toxic chemicals and nearly 80,000 kgs of formalin-treated fish is imported from Myanmar every day. However, formalin -- basically used for preserving dead bodies for a long period -- is not being used for preserving fishes only.

It is now being increasingly used for preserving other foods items, vegetables and fruits, milk and so on. I, however, believe the issue has not yet received the kind of attention it deserves from either the government or the community people. Meanwhile, the physicians are pretty certain that formalin-treated fish are largely responsible for proliferation of deadly diseases in almost every household.

Apart from normal stomach-related diseases, the diseases include skin diseases, renal failure, liver cirrhosis, asthma, cancer and so on. Yes, even looking at formalin-treated fish can cause damage to corneas. Inhalation can cause lung and throat cancer while touching it can cause incurable skin diseases. Thus, the formalin-users in fishes are also susceptible to its damaging effects.

Though the diseases like diarrhea and dysentery can be diagnosed and treated rather quickly and easily, the fatal diseases that take time to infect our bodies become really hard to cure in the end -- where otherwise avoidable -- death or excruciating existence become inevitable in most cases.

And, that is why slow poisoning is all the more dangerous. If the corrupt people prevent our attainable rate of progress and create social inequality, if the godfathers create anarchy in the society and take away sense of tranquility from the minds of general people, then the adulterators are not doing any lesser crime.

They are slowly but surely injecting diseases of grave natures into our bodies and crippling our posterity. Yes, premature deaths from incurable or hard-to-cure diseases have shown signs of increase in the recent years, which is, to a degree, attributed to the intake of adulterated food items. And, children, too, have shown signs of its devastating effects.

Physicians have fingered food adulteration and toxicity as major factors in increasing number of deformed children. The deformity can be both physical and mental. Reportedly, the number of physically handicapped and mentally retarded children has increased lately and only the sufferers know how agonizing the lives of such children and their families are.

Though the general people want relief from such a venomous situation, they have few options to resort to. They do not have the mechanism to detect adulteration in the food items. The government did not even have a formalin kit a few days back, which has been brought in by the present government from Thailand recently.

There is, again, no abundant supply of other food items that they can stay away from fishes. Moreover, in a country like Bangladesh, fishes are a great source of protein. It is the case in other food items as well. This is not a new story that food-related businessmen resorted to strikes in protest against anti-adulteration drives.

In this land of teeming millions, the general people are a sort of hostage to the traders. And, some traders are playing with the lives of the general people, capitalizing on their demands. The anti-adulteration drives by the government, especially the magistrates are highly appreciable. The nation salutes such brave sons of the land.

However, it is difficult to say that the traders have stopped their lethal business of adulteration even after being punished. Reportedly, many reverted to former tricks even after being punished. A vicious cycle of adulteration seems to have developed which needs to be debunked through rigorous state actions.

On no grounds should the adulterators be shown leniency. Our political governments failed to be duly harsh on them for fear of losing support from vested quarters. The present government has decided to strengthen anti-corruption laws to punish the corrupt. Anti-terrorism law is in the pipeline with provision of capital punishment.

I think formulation of an equally stringent anti-adulteration law is also the need of the hour to save us and our posterity from the poison of adulterated food items. If the people are forced to take in adulterated food items incessantly, there might not be enough healthy and intelligent people left or forthcoming to represent a knowledge-based society in the near future.

Kazi S.M. Khasrul Alam Quddusi is Assistant Professor, Department of Public Administration, University of Chittagong.