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Drinks that can lead straight to the hospital

By Noshad Ali

LAHORE: Several Lahoris are falling ill because of drinks sold by the roadside, which vendors make using substandard material and contaminated water.

Vendors however said there was no need to monitor the quality of their products because their drinks were pure, and admitted that they had never been bothered by a Food Department’s raiding team.

“The Food Department only monitors areas like Lorry Adda, Railway Station, The Mall and some of Lahore’s major markets,” said vendor Mubashar Ali selling plum and tamarind drinks on College Road in Township.

He said he used to sell drinks near Railway Station a couple of years ago during the summer, but he had to change his location because of the Food Department’s raids. The vendor said he had not faced a similar problem since. “I do not use substandard material in my drinks,” he said, adding that he used tap water, not mineral water, because he could earn a healthy profit this way. The Daily Times asked him what if tap water was contaminated, and he replied, “Everybody uses tap water and its the government’s responsibility to ensure that the water is not contaminated and it cannot cause stomach diseases.”

Shafiq, another vendor who has been selling drinks near Model Town Link Road for several years, admitted that several vendors selling dried plum and tamarind drinks, lemonade and sugar cane juice used substandard material because customers never paid much for such drinks. He said the majority of vendors used artificial sweeteners as an alternative to sugar, which was expensive and not available easily in this part of the year. “All the vendors use anything as a sweetener but sugar.”

Muhammad Naeem, a vendor in Gulberg Firdous Market, said he sold dates, juices or other drinks according to the seasons. He said he did not sell kacha sherbet like others and he used a local company’s products for his drinks. “Customers from Gulberg and other similar areas do not like cheap products and I have to use expensive material because of this,” he added.

Almost 75 percent of Lahore’s drinking water is contaminated and all the vendors use such water in addition to dangerous food colours in their drinks, which can affect health seriously.

Sources said more than 50 percent patients suffering from stomach diseases at public and private hospitals had fallen ill because of substandard drinks sold at roadsides.

Dr Huma Arshad Cheema, an associate professor at Children’s Hospital, said several children had fallen ill after drinking such drinks. She said around 150 patients visited the hospital every day, of which 40 percent were suffering from stomach diseases. Dr Muhammad Ali, a medical officer at Mayo Hospital, said the number of such patients at all the major hospitals was rising. “The consumption of substandard drinks and sugar cane juice is the main problem behind the issue”. Lahoris mostly suffer from jaundice, hepatitis A, B, C, D and E, gastritis, gastroenteritis, dysentery, typhoid and cholera; all of which are caused by contaminated water, he added.

An official from Services Hospital said the hospital examined 46 patients with stomach diseases every day.

Sajjad Sabir, a patient visiting Services Hospital, said he was suffering from diarrhoea. “I had a drink made by a roadside vendor and after half an hour, I felt pain in my stomach and started throwing up.”

Dr Attique, a general practitioner who runs a private clinic near Model Town, said 50 percent of the patients he treated in summer suffered from stomach diseases caused by substandard drinks.

Food Department District Officer Chaudhary Munir claimed that the department launched a campaign against such vendors every week. He said four food inspectors were monitoring vendors every day of the week, but the department could not keep an eye on such vendors at major entry and exit points of Lahore because of the lack of human resources. “Its not possible to visit every vendor in the city because inspectors have to do several other jobs,” he said, adding that senior officials should fill the nine vacant posts of food inspectors and make a new recruitment policy in accordance with the increasing population.

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