About 900 jewellery shops trading without licences

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Our Correspondent
FARIDPUR, Dec 11: Jewellers without licences are doing brisk business in gold ornaments in the markets of the district. As a result, the government is deprived of a huge amount of revenue.
A total of about 900 jewellery shops of the district have no licence. Only 35 per cent jewellery shops in the district are learnt to have valid licences and the rest shops have none. They are also alleged to be deceiving the people with imitation gold.
The jewerllers in connivance with the dishonest officials are carrying on their illegal business be selling substandard and spurious gold, it is alleged. The jewellery shops have also been causing environmental pollution as nitric acid is used is the shops for melting gold that emits poisonous smoke, causing hazard to the health of the people.
Although there is a rule that gold should be melted in a separate room having a chimney over it, most of the jewellers on both sides of the road do not abide by the rules and are melting gold with nitric acid.
It is also alleged that some smugglers are active in the district to smuggle out gold to India though it is a different issue. It is further alleged that the authorities concerned do not inspect the jewellery shops.
The inspectors of Bangladesh Standard and Testing Institute (BSTI) do hardly visit the jewellery shops in the district town.
When contacted the leaders of district gold traders association admitted the irregularities. They, however, dismissed the allegations of smuggling out gold to India.