Complaints of plastic rice being sold in Hyderabad, police call for calm

Police on Tuesday appealed for calm as alleged incidents of sale of plastic rice and plastic eggs were reported in Hyderabad and Andhra Pradesh's Kurnool district.

Two incidents of 'plastic rice' surfaced in Yousufguda and Meerpet areas in Hyderabad on Tuesday.

Inmates of a private hostel in Yousufguda complained that the cooked rice provided to them Monday night was plastic rice as it tasted differently.

The students said the rice was very sticky and they made balls and played cricket with them. Claiming that the eggs bought by the hostel owner were also of plastic, the students lodged a complaint with Yousufguda police station.

Authorities collected the samples and launched investigations.

In another incident in Meerpet on the city outskirts, a citizen complained that the rice he purchased from a local merchant was plastic rice. He too lodged a complaint with the police.

The incidents came two days after a TV journalist in Saroornagar area was attacked by a hotel owner and his aides after he complained about plastic rice in 'biryani'.

Meanwhile, police in the old city of Hyderabad said that a complaint about plastic rice was lodged at Mir Chowk police station but an analysis of the sample in laboratory revealed that it was not plastic though hazardous.

Deputy Commissioner of Police V. Satyanarayana told reporters on Tuesday that the analysis showed that during polishing of the rice, chemicals beyond permissible limits were used.

While there was no need for any panic, people should remain alert and bring to the notice of police any instance of sale of plastic rice, he said.

An alleged incident of plastic rice sale in the temple town of Srisailam in Kurnool district of Andhra Pradesh also created flutter on Monday. Some people complained that a merchant sold them plastic rice. Police said they were investigating.

Experts say that it's easy to detect plastic rice. If rice is poured in a water container and falls to the bottom, it is organic rice, else it is plastic rice. Also if cooked rice is kept for a longer period, fungus get deposited if the rice is organic.

According to doctors, if plastic is consumed on sustained basis, it leads to hormonal imbalance, digestion, absorption problems, birth defects and even cancer.

--IANS

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