This article exists as part of the online archive for HuffPost India, which closed in 2020. Some features are no longer enabled. If you have questions or concerns about this article, please contact indiasupport@huffpost.com.

Maggi Noodles Ban: Unemployed Worker Commits Suicide In Uttarakhand

After Maggi Ban, Out Of Job Contract Worker At Nestle India Plant Hangs Himself
Nestle 'Maggi' instant noodles are photographed in a shop in the Indian capital New Delhi on June 3, 2015. India June 3, 2015, tested packets nationwide of Nestle India's instant noodles after high lead levels were found in batches in the country's north amid a mounting food-safety scare, an official said. AFP PHOTO / Chandan KHANNA (Photo credit should read Chandan Khanna/AFP/Getty Images)
CHANDAN KHANNA via Getty Images
Nestle 'Maggi' instant noodles are photographed in a shop in the Indian capital New Delhi on June 3, 2015. India June 3, 2015, tested packets nationwide of Nestle India's instant noodles after high lead levels were found in batches in the country's north amid a mounting food-safety scare, an official said. AFP PHOTO / Chandan KHANNA (Photo credit should read Chandan Khanna/AFP/Getty Images)

Two weeks after Uttarakhand banned the sale of Maggi, a contract worker of Nestle India, who worked at its plant in Rudrapur, has committed suicide.

Lalta Prasad, 32, who hailed from the Bareilly, had been working at the plant for the past two years, Hindustan Times reported.

"The wife of the worker came to know about Prasad's suicide after he did not open the door of his room on Monday. His body was hanging from a fan," N.A. Bharne, a senior police official, told HT.

Maggi noodles was banned in Uttarakhand on May 4.

"A decision to ban the sale of Maggi was taken late last night in public interest by the Food Security Department as 2 of a 300 odd samples of the food product failed laboratory tests," Principal Secretary Health Om Prakash said.

More than 1,000 workers have been laid off at the Nestle plant since the ban in Uttarakhand, according to the HT report.

The Food Safety & Standards Authority Of India (FSSAI) banned Maggi after authorities in several states said that laboratory testing revealed excess lead and Monosodium Glutamate (MSG), a taste enhancer.

Earlier this month, Nestle Global CEO Paul Bulcke claimed that internal as well as independent testing found Maggi noodles to be safe. Last week, Nestle India told the Bombay Hight Court that the ban by the FSSAI was "arbitrary and illegal."

"Parents have been told that their children have been poisoned for 30 years," the company said. "It (Maggi) is not a product thrust on a third world country which has failed safety standards. It is sold in other countries. We have built up a reputation for nutritious and safe food," the company said.

But the Bombay High Court did not grant interim relief against the ban which the company had requested, and set the next hearing for June 30.

Prasad is survived by his wife and two children, HT reported.

Contact HuffPost India

Close
This article exists as part of the online archive for HuffPost India, which closed in 2020. Some features are no longer enabled. If you have questions or concerns about this article, please contact indiasupport@huffpost.com.