City markets flooded with harmful mosquito coils

Jubair Hasan Most of the city markets have been flooded with substandard mosquito coils, posing a serious threat to the public health, standard watchdog officials revealed it after detecting such factories in the capital Wednesday. Seasonal businessmen manufacture the low priced anti-mosquito repellent without maintaining a minimum standard to meet the growing demand of such products as mosquito menace has increased alarmingly in the city due to poor performances of official sprayers. Such mosquito coils have normally been marketed in different names at shops adjacent to the slums where more than three million people from lower income group reside. They consume the products on a regular basis to get rid of the mosquito menace. Bangladesh Standard and Testing Institution (BSTI) Wednesday as part of its ongoing drive at Kazla in the capital's Jatrabari area and found a factory where below standard coils have been manufactured by unskilled manpower. The coils were being manufactured under the name of New Bashundhara Mosquito Coil. If used, the coils will cause a severe breathing problem, particularly to the asthma people. "The manufacturers are making the mosquito coils at the unit by using too much insecticide. It's very dangerous for public health," said BSTI magistrate Al Amin who leads the drive. He said people's health condition will surely be in danger by using the substandard products as the manufacturers use insecticides five times higher than the permitted quantity. The anti-adulteration team later sentenced Jahangir Hossain, owner of Shaha Chemicals, a six-month jail term on the spot for the wrongdoings. Jahangir Hossain said that several hundreds of such factories are located at various parts of the capital, mostly in the Old Dhaka, to manufacture coils. "Majority of them have no standard clearance of the authorities. The products are available in the city markets in various brands," he said, adding that he never consumed his own products considering the high health threat. The team also destroyed 3456 substandard coils instantly before it raided to another such factory named Nur Super Chemical at Kutubkhali of the area. The BSTI team also realised a fine of Tk 50,000 from the owner of the factory --- Arif Hossain. The factory was also sealed off. Another BSTI official requested the consumers to check BSTI sticker before purchasing coils.