BKBP called for a 48-hour strike on Aug 3-4, during which they will close down all restaurants, fast-food shops, bakeries and sweetmeat shops. The call was announced yesterday at a press conference held at the Jatiya Press Club. BKBP said it would also arrange a rally on Thursday from where they may announce further programmes.

At the press conference, BKBP leaders termed the operation of the mobile courts as harassment, saying it is nothing but a conspiracy to introduce foreign food items in the country.

"The government should have given us some time to be prepare and then started raiding," said Mohammed Jalaluddin, the joint convenor of the Parishad.

"All the restaurant owners and food traders cannot be dishonest. But the court has been fining everybody. It seems we are committing a crime by our business," he said.

The leaders of the BKBP alleged that the members of the mobile courts do not have any expertise about the system of the food production and food ingredients.

"They charge fines instantly without any laboratory test," he said, adding that the court should have some proof before charging fines.

They also said that, as they buy food ingredients from the market, where adulterated items are available, the government should also control those.

"Nobody from the concerned authorities went to us and warned us about the hygiene and standard of the food in the last three decades," Jalaluddin said, questioning the purpose of the sudden drive.

At the press conference, the owner of Swiss, a prominent fast food shop on Baily Road, as well as Dhansiri, a popular restaurant in Gulshan and Mid Night Sun, a well known Chinese restaurant, all shared their experiences and claimed they were punished without proper grounds.

However, those owners were punished recently by the mobile courts either due to their unhygienic environment or for using unsafe chemicals in their food.