TimesView It’s that time of the year again when one needs to rein in fun by caution. With the festival of colour just a few days away, markets have been flooded with colours that may be harmful for the skin, eyes and cause allergy. While there are measures to control food adulteration, little seems to have been done to check spurious colours that may contain harmful chemicals. Significantly, these colours are cheaper than herbal colours and are the first choice of many consumers. Every year, hundreds of cases of people complaining of allergies and even respiratory disorders are reported. The administration also needs to keep a vigil on revellers who get tipsy and drive dangerously on the roads. JAIPUR: Festival of colours is around the corner and the shops of the city are decked up with colours of Holi. One can find vendors selling colours on the streets, bargaining with the customers, who are looking to purchase the colours as per their pockets.However, while focusing on the price, customers do not look into the quality of the product which can be very harmful for their skin causing itching and rashes. This can eventually cause skin-related complications like eczema or dermatitis. As per the doctors of the city, dry skin can face the major harm for these products are inorganic in nature and are made up of chemicals and glass powder, which can easily penetrate the skin.The solution to this is organic colours prepared by rose petals and starch , which are totally chemical free . Bhayaji Fida Hussain shop at Tripolia bazaar has been selling organic colours since the establishment of Jaipur city. Naseer Khan (63) claimed that these colours are edible as they do not cause any harm to the body. “It takes around one month to make these colours from rose petals. Our shop is not seasonal so we keep manufacturing colours. They are not harmful irrespective of the quantity used,” said Naseer.However, good quality comes with high price. One packet of 100 gm of organic colour is sold for Rs 20 and the same quantity of chemically produced colours is sold for Rs 5 which comes affordable for the public. “A box containing six small plastic bottles of liquid colours is sold for Rs 25 and the similar box is charged higher in case of organic colours. We also keep chemical colours and sell them on customer demand after informing them of their ill-effects,” added Naseer.The customers who buy organic colours come from good economic backgrounds. Suresh Meena , a customer buying inorganic colour said, “It is not possible for me to spend so much money on just colours. I agree that safety is necessary but it should also be affordable. Anyway, we have been playing with these colours since childhood and oil massage before playing Holi has always been there.”

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