9 vermicelli factories demolished in Ctg

During the drive, an aggrieved quarter set fire to one of the factories, burning down four factories. The factory was torched in a bid to fuel incitement against the drive, sources said.

During the seven-hour drive that began at around 11:30pm on Wednesday, the mobile court also seized two trucks of vermicelli and a huge quantity of substandard palm oil, vegetable oil and other raw materials from the factories.

Chittagong Port Authority (CPA) Magistrate Mohammad Munir Chowdhury conducted the drive with the help of Chittagong Metropolitan Police (CMP) and Bangladesh Standard Testing Institute (BSTI).

Sources in the mobile court said a large pan full of palm oil on the oven of a factory caught the fire at around 12:15am, which soon engulfed three other factories.

At this time a group of people tried to take out a procession accusing the mobile team of setting the fire.

However, the members of the court along with the local ward commissioner managed to bring the situation under control with the help of policemen who dispersed the mob.

Five fire fighting units rushed to the spot and extinguished the blaze after a three-hour frantic effort.

Later, the mobile court raided five more factories at the adjoining areas and seized huge quantities of substandard vermicelli and raw materials.

The factories were set up illegally and producing vermicelli without obtaining BSTI licence, said the magistrate.

Md Habibur Rahman Bhuiyan, senior Scientific Officer of Bangladesh Centre of Science and Industrial Research (BCSIR) in a statement said that the seized food items contained ingredients detrimental to public health.

The law enforcers were trying to arrest the owners of two factories who went into hiding.