The scam over supply of bacillus thuringiensis israelensis (BTI), a group of biological agents used for controlling larvae of certain dipterans, has poured cold water on the enthusiasm Mayor Atiqul Islam of the Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) exuded at the launching event of the biological compound. In its latest move, the DNCC has blacklisted Marshal Agrovet Chemical Industries Ltd, the company that imported as the lowest bidder the BTI for the city corporation's use, cancelled the agreement and also constituted a three-member committee to look into the matter in details and take further legal actions on the basis of its findings.
So far, this looks good. But there is a vital unanswered question, how can a company without licence receive the work order, in the first place? Strangely, all three companies that took part in the e-tender bidding had no licence. It is exactly at this point one cannot be blamed for smelling a rat in the tender floating and bidding by only the unlicensed companies. On the last day of April, this year ---four days before the tender closed officially, the DNCC wrote a letter to the Plant Protection Wing (PPW) of the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) asking if it was possible to issue a licence or give special permission for import of BTI to a company, because the process was lengthy and the city corporation had an emergency. The PPW claims it advised the DNCC to follow the Pesticide Act, 2018. But the DNCC mayor contends that his corporation was given permission to import BTI. Let it be noted that the DAE is the licence-issuing authority. If the PPW says the DNCC can import such biological agents following the rules under the Pesticide Act,2018, it does not mean the former has approved the move to give work order to an unlicensed company. The city corporation people may have construed it as permission but compliance of the pesticide act, if PPW categorically mentions it, does not allow the DNCC to go ahead at all. Does it not show that the DNCC knew the lowest bidder or perhaps all three of them had no licence? But they were not supposed to know who the bidders were before opening the tenders and those cannot legally be opened before the closing date.
Something seems to be fishy here. Is a scandal of ill-famed Regent Hospital's Shahed Karim proportion unfolding here? Concerned in both cases are public health and protection against viruses. One wonders what would have happened had the Best Chemical Co. (S) Pte Ltd (Bestchem) did not notice and declared that it had not supplied BTI to any company in Bangladesh. It also added that the person, named Le Kwang, presented as the representative of Bestchem had nothing to do with the company. In fact, the authorities of the Singaporean company did not recognise the man.
In the tender, though, there were several source countries' names such as Singapore, USA, India and Malaysia. It is not clear if the 5.0 tonnes of larvicide worth Tk 5,300,000 has been sourced from China or the entire consignment is counterfeit. The DNCC has sent samples to the PPW for testing and the report should be available any day now. That both the DNCC and the importing company have breached the Pesticide Act, 2018 is quite clear. An unlicensed company cannot import, manufacture, package, repackage and sell pesticides under this act. The law does not permit awarding a work order to such an unlicensed company.
It is not clear if the mayor, who on his return from a US visit publicly announced that fumigation is futile and has learnt the technology of destroying aedes mosquitoes, pinned his hope on this biochemical controlling technology. At least the launching of BTI gives the impression that he savoured the prospect of becoming successful in his mission this time. However man proposes, a deceitful element disposes.
What is particularly frustrating for the mayor and the residents of his part of Dhaka is that the packets that were flaunted as the ultimate recipe have printed on those that the content has to be applied in ditches, drains and sewers. Looks like this particular variety of BTI is meant for controlling mosquitoes other than aedes. Can it be that the genuine type is meant for eradication of the dengue vector aedes? If it is so, the Agrovet Chemical really not only wanted to play a bluff on the DNCC but also made a mockery of the entire episode with far-reaching consequences for Dhaka residents and even people staying beyond. Any hope of containing dengue's far and wide spread now diminishes.
This is a crime of stupendous order. The fake company was all set to play with public health and lives. So it must suffer exemplary punishment for the crime. The role, if any — pertaining to collusion in particular — of the DNCC also has to be brought under the scanner.
Finally, the Le Kwang issue is a clear proof that Marshal Agrovet tried its best to hoodwink its misdeed. With the ulterior motive of giving credibility to a fake initiative, it produced one impostor. The legal procedure should compel Marshal Agrovet to produce the charlatan before the court for him to suffer the legal consequences for his part in the crime.
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