These drinks are prepared in most unhygienic condition using contaminated water, dirty ice, artificial colour and flavour that cause diseases to the consumers, putting public health in great risk.

Hundreds of vendors are selling these drinks in the name of "fruit juice" and "sorbet" openly. The consumers are mostly poor and middle class people -- rickshaw-pullers, hawkers and day labourers.

"In this burning hot weather, pulling rickshaw is really tough and these cheap and chilled drinks are the best option to quench thirst," said Jasim, a rickshaw-puller.

Makeshift sherbet outlets are mushrooming in the city streets especially at the crowded spots.

Nazrul who sells orange and papaya juice at Farmgate said he uses fruits, sugar and ice to prepare the sorbet. He however denied using artificial colour in his chilled drinks which he sells for Tk 2 or 3 per glass.

He sells his juice in a van where all the ingredients are kept uncovered and in a dirty condition. Even the containers are rusty and glasses are dirt-stained. Moreover, he washes the glasses with dirty water.

Although Nazrul puts two fresh papayas and few oranges on display in his van, he does not use those to prepare the drinks. Instead, he uses almost rotten fruits that he collects from Karwan Bazar and keeps those inside the van.

When asked whether he is concerned about the hygiene he said: "Is there any guarantee that the so-called bottled mineral water are hygienic?"

Many people have been suffering from intestinal diseases because of these unhygienic drinks. But only a few of them gave up drinking it.

Arifur Rahman, a service holder, has a different opinion.

He said: "We can see that these drinks are unhygienic. But even the apparently safe foods and drinks that are sold in attractive packs in markets sometimes found to be unhygienic. So, if I fall sick, can I blame it entirely on the drinks sold on footpaths?"

The mobile court drives against adulterated foods have begun again. The courts are punishing adulterators in the food industry but no action has been taken yet against the dangerous street foods and drinks sold openly on the street sides.

Dhaka City Corporation (DCC) is supposed to prevent the production and sale of foods threatening public health in the capital. But DCC officials said their hands are tied by rules and they cannot take action against all street foods.

"The DCC food inspectors enforce Food Ordinance 1959, Pure Food Rules 1967 and DCC Ordinance 1985 while inspecting foods but sales of street foods does not fall under the purview of these acts," said Golam Sarwar, public health analyst, DCC.

He said 107 food items are on the list for inspection. An inspector can collect samples of these food items only and send those to the DCC laboratory for testing.

"As foods and drinks selling on the streets are not on the list under any DCC law, we cannot test any such food item or drinks," Sarwar said.

But experts say this is a lame excuse to avoid their duty.

When contacted, first class magistrate Rokon-ud-doullah, who heads one of the mobile courts involved in the drive against adulterated food items, said: "The article 124 of DCC Ordinance 1983 empowers the authority to take action against selling of any kind of unhygienic food."