These food items still remain unchecked as the mobile courts can not raid or file cases against establishments that do not have any holding number.

The consumers also never complain as they can not afford to take food from any other legitimate source.

Prepared in dubious surroundings and sold in dirty containers and bags, street food is directly responsible for a large section of the working poor suffering from stomach related ailments, typhoid fever and intestinal problems. Rickshaw-pullers, slum dwellers and the lower middle class are most at risk but reality forces them to accept street food as it comes.

Rahmat Miah, a rickshaw-puller from Karwan Bazar said: "I have heard about the mobile court raiding big restaurants and bakeries. This is certainly a good initiative of the government but we are worried about what would happen if the mobile court starts raiding the street side food houses. Will the sellers improve the quality of the food or will they take that as an excuse to raise the prices? We cannot pay more because our income has not increased."

In commercial and residential areas and near educational institutions, a large number of people satisfy their hunger with street food. The poor people who are engaged in this business have no idea of hygiene and are only vaguely aware of what harm adulterated food could do to their health.

Most street side hotel owners admitted that they cooked food using unpacked soybean oil sold from drums at Tk 38 to Tk 42 per kg at kitchen markets. They buy turmeric, chili and Cummins seed powder at Tk five or six per 100 grams. These are of cheap quality and 60 percent of the content is usually rotten.

The unhygienic places where the food is cooked are filled with germs that cause diarrhoea and typhoid fever. These microorganisms contaminate the foods through air, dust, flies, dirty hands and nails of the cooks.

Sheikh Hamim Hossain, a Dhaka City Corporation magistrate said the corporation has plans of a crack down on unhealthy street food outlets in the month of Ramadan.

"Our drive will start from Ramzan by checking the iftar items at shops and it would continue," said Hossain.