Strengthen drive against food adulteration

Bangladesh Paribesh Andolon forms a human chain at Shahbagh in the city yesterday with a call to intensify the drive against food adulteration. PHOTO: STAR

The demand was made from a rally organised by Bapa under its Safe Food Programme at Shahbagh intersection in the city.

Bapa also formed a human chain on this occasion to press home its demand.

Fifteen organisations including Nirapad Khadya Andolon, Nagorik Udyog, Peace, Seba, Hunger Free World, Green Voice, Ghashful, Khelaghar, Sylhet Division Unnayan Parishad and Seba O Satkar Samity expressed their solidarity with the programme.

The speakers raised questions for whose interests the anti-adulteration drive was stopped when it was to strengthen further.

Emphasising on massive punitive actions against the culprits, they said the businessmen involved in adulterations of foods and drinks are not only making money illegally but also poisoning the entire nation.

The speakers said the consumers are panic-gripped thinking what sort of poison is mixed with the food that they are taking.

They said people are deprived of their constitutional and fundamental rights to safe food due to weaknesses of the administration and became hostages of some dishonest traders.

Bapa also placed a 10-point demand at the programme which included strengthening of the drive, streamlining of the administration through regular monitoring, formulating a separate regulatory commission to control food standards and installing labs at national, divisional and district levels.

Chaired by Safe Food Progra-mme Convenor Dr Mahbubur Rahman the rally was also addressed by Mohibul Haq Khan, Capt (Retd) Abul Kashem, Zakir Hossain, Mihir Biswas, Engineer Iqbal Habib, Dr Abdul Hye Majumdar, Dr Nuruddin, Dr Mahbub Hossain, Advocate Abed Raza, Ifma Hossain, Alamgir Hossain, Alamgir Kabir, Amitav Rahman, Khairul Bashar and Kamal Hossain.