FBCCI urges govt to make TCB the sole importer and seller of formalin
Traders of the city’s nine kitchen markets, which were declared formalin-free by the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI), have urged the government to authorise only the Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB) for importing and selling formalin. Distinguished personalities, including academicians and social activists, also underscored the need for enacting a law in Parliament against the misuse of formalin.
Organised by the FBCCI, the demands were made from a human chain, held by Malibagh Bazar Banik Babosaye Samity, at Malibagh Rail Gate in the capital, on Wednesday.
The Malibagh Bazar Banik Babosaye Samity also suspended selling their commodities for 15 minutes, to press their demands of enacting laws that would ensure 10 years of imprisonment for illegal sellers, importers and users of formalin and give the TCB the sole authority to import formalin.
AAMS Arefin Siddique, vice-chancellor of Dhaka University, Sultana Kamal, chairperson of the Transparency International Bangladesh and Ayn of Shalis Kendro, Monwara Hakim Ali, first vice-president of FBCCI, Md Helal Uddin, vice-president of FBCCI, and renowned media personality Rokeya Prachi addressed the event, and expressed solidarity with the demand of the Malibagh Bazar Banuk Babosaye Samiti.
AAMS Arefin Siddique said the government should take steps to stop formalin import by the private sector, so that misuse of formalin, especially its addition to food products, can be controlled.
“Formalin has diversified uses. But when added to food, it leads to serious health hazards,” Siddique said. He urged the government to give sole authority to TCB for importing formalin, which may resist the misuse of the chemical.
Helal Uddin said the practice of adding formalin to food products must end. He said the FBCCI has been trying to keep the city’s kitchen markets formalin-free since two years.
As part of the effort, nine kitchen markets in Dhaka city and eight in other districts have been declared formalin-free, where the FBCCI has handed over formaldehyde machines to check whether formalin has been added to food products.
Helal Uddin said these kitchen markets are observing the protest programme on Wednesday. He also said lawmakers must take steps to enact a law in the coming Parliament session, scheduled to be kicked off from September 12, to stop the use of formalin in food products. He also demanded that the law should be enacted, in line with the law against “acid violence”, by which illegal importers, users and sellers face 10 years of imprisonment.
-With The Independent input
