Watermelons safe to consume: Food Safety Deptt

Srinagar, March 16: The Food Safety Department on Saturday confirmed that watermelons in the Kashmir Valley are safe to consume as no adverse reports were found.
Talking to Rising Kashmir, Deputy Commissioner Food Safety Department Shugufta Jalal said that as the concerns arose, the Food Safety Department acted promptly and deployed teams throughout the valley to collect samples and utilized mobile testing vans for on-the-spot assessments.
The results from these initial tests showed no adverse findings which alleviated immediate worries.
She said that furthering their due diligence, the department sent samples to laboratories for advanced testing, including checks for coloring agents, pesticide residues, chemical composition, and heavy metal content.
The comprehensive reports received today have echoed the initial findings, showing no harmful substances present in the watermelons, she added.
She further said that their food safety and testing drives are a continuous effort to ensure the well-being of the public.
She also highlighted the availability of a toll-free number, 104, encouraging consumers to report any food-related complaints for prompt action.
Pertinent to mention, the controversy over consumption of watermelons erupted day before the starting of Ramadhan when a Kashmir Based Oncologist posted on social media that there is no Watermelon season and the said fruit is in the market due to its early ripening with use of chemicals.
NIA chargesheets two in Kokernag encounter
New Delhi, March 16 : The National Investigation Agency (NIA) on Saturday chargesheeted two accused in the Jammu and Kashmir’s Kokernag encounter in which one Lashkar-e-Taiba terrorist was killed.
The chargesheet filed before the NIA Special Court, Jammu, names Mohd Akbar Dar and Ghulam Nabi Dar, both residents of the Kokernag area of Anantnag. They have been charged under various sections of the Indian Penal Code (IPC), Arms Act and UA(P) Act.
The case relates to a week-long encounter that took place at Guri Nad Forest, Halpora Kokernag, in which terrorist Uzair Khan was neutralised by the security forces.
The terrorist killed in the encounter was an active member of The Resistant Front (TRF), an off-shoot of Lashkar-e-Taiba (LeT).
Uzair joined the LeT in August 2022 and was involved in promoting terror activities against security forces in the Anantnag area through Pakistani handlers from across the border. He had also been involved in earlier terror incidents in the Kokernag area, and on previous two occasions, he had managed to flee from the clutches of the security forces after taking advantage of the mountainous and forest terrain.
NIA investigations revealed that the accused Mohd Akbar Dar and Ghulam Nabi Dar were working as Over Ground Workers for terrorist Uzair Khan.
“The duo was helping the terrorists active in the area to commit terror acts and activities in the UT of Jammu and Kashmir. They were providing information about the movement of the security forces, along with logistic support in the form of food, daily need items, etc. They were also harbouring terrorists by providing them shelter,” NIA said.
Both LeT and TRF are proscribed organisations and have been involved in the continuous instigation and motivation of Kashmiri youth to join the terror outfits in the name of Jihad.
LeT is the largest terrorist group formed in the early 1990s and is actively engaged in reviving the network in the Anantnag area. It is working through various offshoots in the Jammu and Kashmir region. The two outfits are operating on social media platforms like Twitter, Telegram and YouTube channels to promote their cause and lure unemployed youth to carry out terror activities.
The case was initially registered on September 13 last year at Kokernag Police Station in Anantnag district and re-registered by the NIA on December 5 last year. (ANI)