Food traders threaten with 2-day strike
Star Report
A combine of five food traders associations yesterday threatened to observe a 48-hour strike protesting what it said was harassment by mobile courts that continued raiding restaurants and shops to check production and sales of unsafe food.The combine, Bangladesh Khadya Byabasayi Parishad (BKBP) demanded of the government to stop "harassing traders with inexperienced mobile court officials". Otherwise, it will call a two-day strike at all restaurants and food shops across the country on August 3-4, the BKBP said in a press release. Meantime, three mobile courts yesterday raided a number of restaurants and shops in Gulshan, Motijheel and Old Dhaka and fined lawbreakers about Tk 1.86 lakh. A court chaired by Magistrate ABN Abdul Fattah raided 11 restaurants and shops in Gulshan and fined them Tk 1.27 lakh for unsafe preservation and unhygienic kitchen environment. He also forfeited Tk 10,000 from Banoful Sweetmeat for selling rotten burgers. Four other small restaurants and Biriani shops were fined Tk 12,000. The court of Magistrate Md Rokan Uddoulah raided butter shops and factories at Patuatuli in Old Dhaka and filed 17 cases against their owners. The court filed cases against Uttam Devnath and Zakir Hossain, jailed them for one month and fined Tk 6,000 each for producing spurious butter. The court also fined the butter shops of Narendra Nath, Afzal Hossain, Moselm Ali and Mofakkharul Islam Tk 5,000 each and filed cases against them. Another mobile court headed by Magistrate Nurul Alam charged Tk 24,600 to three restaurants and fast food shops in Motijheel. A court in Narayanganj fined 14 restaurants and fast food shops Tk 7,600 for selling rotten items and preserving food in unhygienic conditions, reports our Narayanganj corresponded. Our Chittagong staff correspondent adds: A mobile court formed by Chittagong City Corporation (CCC) yesterday fined 21 bakery, sweetmeat and food shops and hotels in the city Tk 3.54 lakh for unhygienic environment and selling adulterated items. The court led by Magistrate Syeda Sarwar Jahan in a follow-up inspection on Saturday arrested six employees of Tamanna Bakery in Halishahar for defying its order. The magistrate fined Sweetmax at GEC Intersection Tk 10,000 for unhygienic kitchen and adulterated fast food items.
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