Candies found dumped on roadside in Uttara Kannada's Sirsi village

More than two quintals of expired chocolate candies of different flavours were dumped roadside near Hoodlamane Cross under the jurisdiction of Itaguli Gram Panchayat in the taluk. However, the villagers dug a trench and buried the candies the next day.

Candies with expired dates were thrown on the roadside on Tuesday, near Hoodlamane Cross, which is at a distance of six km from Sirsi. Photographs of those candies were shared on social media also. Based on a complaint by the villagers, the officials of the Gram Panchayat and the City Municipal Council also visited the spot.

It is suspected that a dealer dumped the candies as they could not be sold due to Covid-induced lockdown and their expiry dates were also over. A few children reportedly took the candies and some cattle also ate them.

As per the instruction from Gram Panchayat president Ramesh Naik, the Panchayat staff and villagers dug a trench and buried the candies on Wednesday evening.

CMC environment engineer Narayan Nayak said that there is an allegation that the candies belonged to a dealer in Sirsi. “Verification is on, and action would be taken if we get adequate evidence,” he added.