Acid sells for as little as Rs 25, Supreme Court ban ignored

The open sale of acid is banned all across the country but there are places where you still get it freely. In Ghaziabad UP, acid is being sold openly by the vendors on roads and by going door-to-door also. Vendors openly selling acid is very common in the city where the vendors even use a loudspeaker to woo people to buy acid. One bottle of acid will cost you only Rs 25.

In 2013, the Supreme Court had banned the open sale of this liquid all over India and had asked the states to frame guidelines for its sale to some particular parties under proper regulation. The district administration enlists many such street vendors also in its records. The local vendors add water to it for diluting and sell it as a toilet cleaner. As per the vendor Iamin talked to, he was not asked for any identification by the administration while buying the acid.

Many NGOs and other activists have been demanding strict measures for the illegal sale of acid in the country over the last few years in the wake of the rising incidents of acid attacks on women. Chetan, a member of acid attack campaign said, “Law is broken at the ground level. According to Poison Act 119, apart from acid, toilet cleaners and their sale should also be regulated. If left unchecked, such vendors can sell hard acid too and in such a case, the square blame of any mishap would only lie with the administration."

Iamin also talked to S. Shukla, who supplies acid to the factories near Sriram Piston Factory on Meerut Road. From the conversation, it was inferred that acid sellers buy hard acid from numerous suppliers, add water and sell it further in the markets which can be dangerous if not in the hands of responsible citizens.

Also read the complete report here, http://www.iamin.in/en/ghaziabad/news/little-rs-25-you-can-openly-buy-acid-ghaziabad-49866