Plastic rice menace looms large in Hyderabad

Two incidents of customers being sold plastic rice come to light; victims lodge police complaint

​Hyderabad: The menace of plastic rice seems to be increasing in Hyderabad. Two incidents of ‘plastic rice’ surfaced in Meerpet and Yousufguda areas in the city on Tuesday.

Ashok of Nandana vanam Colony lodged a complaint with the Meerpet police stating that the rice he purchased from a local merchant turned out to be plastic rice.

He said in his complaint that he had purchased 25 kg rice packet from a local trader a few days ago by paying Rs 1,100.

When cooked, the rice was becoming sticky and balls made out of the cooked rice were springing back when hit on the ground just like rubber balls.

He also told the police that the trader did not respond to him though he took the matter to his notice.

In another incident, inmates of a private hostel at Yousufguda complained that the cooked rice provided to them on Monday night was plastic rice as it tasted differently.

The students alleged that 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 the police.

The police collected samples of rice from the trader in Nandanavanam Colony and also from the hostel in Yousufguda and sent them for examination at a food testing laboratory.

Minister for Civil Supplies Eatala Rajender late on Tuesday evening directed C V Anand, Commissioner, Civil Supplies, to conduct raids and submit a comprehensive report immediately.

The incidents come two days after a TV journalist in Saroornagar area was attacked by local TRS leaders and a hotel owner after he complained about plastic rice in the biryani he had purchased from the hotel.

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