Reader G.N. Murthy of Mumbai writes, "What is the use of publicising test reports exposing substandard goods, when the enforcement departments do nothing?" Most of us share this cynical kuch-nahin-hota-hai attitude. Sometimes, however, kuch kuch hota hai.

When complaints to the Bangalore Corporation regarding fake mineral water brands-sold without Bureau of Indian Standards certification-brought no action, the complainants approached the Lok Ayukta, and in March the godowns of 34 manufacturers (including a brand called Quality Safe Drinking Water) were sealed.

Insight, the consumer magazine, published in its July 2000 issue a test report revealing that several brands of clinical thermometers were substandard and unreliable. A wrong temperature reading means wrong diagnoses, with disastrous results. Taking note of the test report, the Ministry of Consumer Affairs instructed the BIS to make ISI certification mandatory for clinical thermometers.

Manufacture of Royal and Rider brand electrical plugs was stopped after an Insight expose (March 2001) revealed the brands flouted mandatory ISI norms. BIS also accepted a recommendation by the Consumer Education and Research Centre (CERC), Ahmedabad, on endurance tests for electrical plugs and socket outlets.

When Bajaj and Remson Goldline brand immersion water heaters were tested and found to have unsafe components (Insight, January 2000) BIS initiated a review of the licensees' performances. It directed instruction sheets be enclosed for buyers' safety.

The drug Cisapride (prescribed for gastrointestinal disorders) was found by the US Food and Drug Administration to be associated with serious cardiac problems. Its sale was stopped in several developed countries by July 2000, but continued in India (where it had an estimated market of Rs 80 crore). Following protests by CERC, the Drugs Controller of India has now issued instructions for marketing restrictions and warnings, and the Ministry of Health is examining the legal requirements for a ban on imports.

Moral: Exposing deficiencies and "making a noise" is not the futile exercise that cynics believe it to be. Kabhi kabhi, kuch hota hai.

-Sakuntala Narasimhan

No Small Thing

Roy kicks a row

When Arundhati Roy and filmmaker husband Pradeep Krishen built a house on 5,000 sq ft of protected land near the Satpura National Park in Pachmarhi, Madhya Pradesh, a decade ago, they were accused of flouting the Wild Life Protection Act, 1972. The couple is contesting the issue, but they've already set a precedent. Today 522 people have "bought" land here and some have even registered their "properties".

Thanks to the celebrity address, land prices here have shot up from Rs 4 per sq ft in 1992 to Rs 300 per sq ft today. But encroachers needn't worry about having to move. Activist Roy hates the word displacement and holds courts in contempt.

-Neeraj Mishra

WILDLIFE
Riddle of the Ridleys

A SCENE FROM THE PAST: Nestling turtles

It is not often that a non-event sparks frenzy. But the non-arrival of the Olive Ridley sea turtles on the Orissa coast this nesting season has alarmed conservationists. Usually in March, lakhs of Ridleys come to lay eggs at the Gahirmatha coast, considered the world's largest nesting ground for the turtles. The turtles have missed nesting in the past too. So in 2001 when they came in hordes to lay eggs, conservationists breathed easy.

This time the turtles arrived but did not come ashore to lay the eggs. Wildlife experts believe that uncontrolled mechanised trawling-which has killed turtles in large numbers in the past-and the proximity of a defence establishment to the nesting site had resulted in the turtles abandoning their plans.

No one is sure where the Ridleys are headed now or what happened to their eggs. As conservationists seek answers, they also wonder if the turtles will return. If they don't, they'll be a step closer to extinction, and Orissa will be deprived of its priceless visitors.

-Ruben Banerjee