Patna, March 10: For several vegetable vendors, it’s Holi every day. They play with colours each morning and evening to give fresh-from-farm looks to their commodities, exposing innocent citizens to health hazards.

If your doctor has advised you to have green vegetables, be sure to wash them properly before eating. Your friendly vegetable vendor may have dipped them in a dye that is not very healthy.

The Telegraph discovered many vegetable-sellers at Mithapur roundabout, Boring Road, Rajapul, Anta Ghat, Kankerbagh, Agamkuan and near the new Secretariat use a generous quantity of chemical solutions to camouflage their vegetables and make them look fresh.

Bitter gourd, pointed gourd, lady’s finger, cucumber, spinach, peas and carrots are often coated with wax to make them look attractive. Brinjals get a coat of pesticides. Vendors, however, deny the use of colour. “The vegetables have a shine anyway. We do not add any colour,” said one of them.

Bihar Health Services Association member Ajay Kumar said the colours could be very harmful if consumed.

“We often advise our patients to have greens. But if they are coloured with wax and pesticides, they can be very harmful. They can adversely affect kidney, liver, stomach and digestive system. These can also create neurological disorder,” said Kumar.

He added: “If pregnant women consume these vegetables, the foetus can get affected. We should try to avoid such harmful colours.”

Consumers are, naturally, livid about this. “Vegetables are so expensive these days. Gourds are priced at Rs 50 per kg, lady’s fingers at Rs 60. We pay to get fresh vegetables. It is shocking to learn about such practices. How can common people know if they are getting fresh vegetables or not?” said Panch Mandir resident Urmila Kumar, a homemaker.

The authorities are, however, blissfully unaware of the mass-scale adulteration.

District magistrate Sanjay Kumar Singh said: “We have not received any complaint on vegetable vendors using colours. But if such things are going on, we will take steps to prevent them. Culprits will be brought to book.”

Food and consumer protection minister Shyam Rajak said: “Our department will take action against the vendors doing this. There is a forum where the people can complain.”

The minister added: “There is an urgent need of crackdown on unscrupulous traders. Farmers often adulterate the vegetables. There is a need for stricter laws to prevent such practices. It is very sad to know vegetables are being poisoned this way.”

Till such laws are framed, there is a way to protect yourself. R.K. Sohane, the director of Bihar Agriculture Management and Extension Training Institute, said: “When you buy a brinjal, rub it on your palm. If it is oily, it has a coat of paint. Similarly, when you buy gourds, scratch the skin and the colour will fade. This is the only way to find the difference.”