NETRAKONA, July 7 (UNB): Iftar items of the standard below the mark are selling in the local markets here, including those in the district town, exposing health hazards to the fasting people in the holy month of Ramadan.
Owners of the iftar items' shops, not only those in the rural haats and bazaars but also those at different intersections in the town, are doing brisk business with selling the items, made artificially attractive with inferior quality ingredients, at high prices too from the beginning of Ramadan.
There is seen a heavy rush of customers to buy the items every day before breaking their fast.
With the beginning of Ramadan, the roads and pavements of the town and different upazila headquarters went under the occupation of the vendors selling various iftar items.
As the sun starts leaning towards the west in the afternoon, people, mainly those fasting, are seen crowing the roadside shops for iftar items.
Sale reaches peak just before iftar, the time of breaking a day's fast.
These iftar items are made with low quality ingredients, including artificial food dyes, and sold in an unhygienic environment too.
They include jilapi (sweet soaked in sugar syrup), bundia (a fried sweet snack made from boot dal and flour), muri (puffed rice), piaju (onion lentil fritter), Shobji Chop (vegetable fritter), Alur Chop (potato fritter), fried gram, Beguni (brijal fritter) and different kinds of sweetmeat.
The traders sell different kinds of seasonal fruits, including mango, laced with formalin.
Some buyers alleged that most of the roadside vendors are selling sub-standard ifter items at high prices.
Owners of the shops of the iftar items make their products mixing them with colours to make them attractive to allure buyers.
Substandard iftar items on sale in Netrakona
FE Team | Published: July 08, 2014 00:00:00 | Updated: November 30, 2026 06:01:00
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