Officials of the Vigilance Department conducted raids on fertilizer shops and seized 194 tonnes of stock from them till Thursday.
Following complaints that some shopkeepers were selling coloured salts as muriate of potash, sourcing it from wholesale shops in neighbouring Karnataka, the officials inspected 554 of the 750 fertilizer shops in the district and effected the seizure. The raids would be continued, said the officials who acted in coordination with Agriculture Department officials.
Samples of 27 types of fertilizers were sent to a lab for testing and notices served on the shopkeepers in and around Tripurantakam for taking further action in this regard, they said. A case has been registered against one Somasundar after seizing 624 fertilizer bags from his shop being run without a licence, they said.
