Only the sternest measures against threats to people's health
Wednesday, 4 July 2007
Enayet Rasul
IT was no secret for a long time that some so called fish traders driven by the instinct of making quick money at the expense of public health, have been breeding fishes in sewer lagoons at Narayanganj near Dhaka and marketing also these fishes extensively. But this knowledge, amazingly, never led to any hard measure against this very serious crime. This alone speaks loudly about the extreme lack of responsibility on the part of those who ran government administrations in the country.
Thus, it was a refreshing and very welcome experience to note the actions taken by a mobile court some days ago as it swooped down on these evil fish breeders. The members of the mobile court surrounded the lagoons and dropped poisons in them that lead to deaths of huge quantities of the fishes which then floated to the surface. The dead fishes were skimmed and later instantly burnt. Some quantities were put into holes in the ground and buried.
People are no doubt very grateful for this happening. But they are not entirely free from anxiety either. Where is the guarantee, they ask, that the crime will not resume in the future ? After all, a great deal of enthusiasm for the fish breeders was noted as the mobile court engaged in its operations. Beneficiaries of the crime in nearby villages turned the Shyampur area where the lagoons are located, into a dangerous conflict zone. They tried to surround the policemen who were with the mobile team and pelted stones on the later in waves all throughout the day. They also barricaded roads and were even successful in laying their hands on some quantities of the dead fishes and got away with the same. No doubt, the looted hazardous fishes would be marketed as usual.
Mobile courts have been taking actions against different areas against hazardous goods and substances that can harm people's health. Offences were detected in the preparation of confectionery items, sweetmeats, cooking oil and other edibles. The producers of fake medicines and sub standard drugs were also subjected to the operation of the mobile courts. The mobile courts were seen operating with a regularity for a while and, as a consequence, considerable awakening among the offenders was noted as they were seen taking steps to improve their operations out of a concern to escape the paying of penalties. But there had been also lapses in the frequency or regularity in the operation of the mobile courts in recent months. Taking advantage of the same, the offenders are sensed to be restarting their activities in many cases.
So, people's concern now is whether a similar slack after one big successful operation, will also mar the achievement of the crackdown against the raising of fishes in sewer lagoons. This has been posing as a very big and continuous threat to public health. Fishes from these lagoons used to be supplied abundantly in the city's markets and consumed by people in the city. Water mixed with human excreta like the waters of the lagoons owned by the Water and Sewerage Authority (WASA) contain deadly germs from human bodies such as the germs of typhoid, hepatitis B, cholera, syphills, etc. Fishes reared in such waters are also expected to carry these germs and on their consumption by healthy humans the germs can only find new human victims. So, it should be obvious to all why consumption of such hazardous fishes must be absolutely prevented for all times to come.
Therefore, hard vigilance over the lagoons must become a regular activity of the police from now on. A permanent police presence should be there mainly to ensure that fishes are not sought to be bred in the sewer lagoons again. Immediate actions will have to be taken against the officials of WASA who were party to this crime. Without their cooperation, of course in exchange for pecuniary benefits, the breeders would not be able to do what they had been doing. The police should search out the villages and find out the breeders and their local accomplices. No compromise in the matter should be allowed.
People of the area must get the right signal that some of them were only helping an abominable crime and that none can save them from punishment. Tough actions in this regard will have a deterrent effect. The local people who tried to riot against the police should be all arrested and charged for obstructing rightful policing activities. Steps should be particularly taken against some local politicos who claim to be people's representatives at the grass roots level. These politicos were directly protecting the fish breeders. None should be spared. The fish breeders, of course, should be charged with all the offences applicable and no leniency or favour should be allowed in the matter. Only the doing of these things and maintaining a strong police presence in the area, can create some assurance that people in this city of over 10 million people will not have to again eat fishes raised in sewer treatment ponds.
It has been also heartening to note that mobile courts are monitoring the smearing of fishes with formalin for preservation. The use of formalin, thus, has come down to almost nil, according to reports. But in this area also, regular monitoring or vigilance would be required to offset the reappearance of the deadly practice which posed such a great threat to the health of citizens.
All responsible quarters should also take time out to think about their role in relation to these issues. For example, reports appeared in the press -- though these were few in number -- suggesting that the fishes from the sewer lagoons can be released in fresh water bodies and these would ultimately become purified. According to such reports, this would also be a better disposal method saving resources. But how can such quarters, holding this view, be sure, scientifically, that these fishes can get purified on release in fresh water bodies.? Furthermore, many of these fishes on being released into relatively fresh water bodies may be netted soon and sold in the markets for consumption. These fishes would not get time for purification, if the purification theory is at all acceptable, and continue to hazard the health of their consumers. Thus, all quarters should seriously think over the issue, before spreading any misinformation or wrong information. People's health is too big a concern to be sacrificed to promote such narrow views.
IT was no secret for a long time that some so called fish traders driven by the instinct of making quick money at the expense of public health, have been breeding fishes in sewer lagoons at Narayanganj near Dhaka and marketing also these fishes extensively. But this knowledge, amazingly, never led to any hard measure against this very serious crime. This alone speaks loudly about the extreme lack of responsibility on the part of those who ran government administrations in the country.
Thus, it was a refreshing and very welcome experience to note the actions taken by a mobile court some days ago as it swooped down on these evil fish breeders. The members of the mobile court surrounded the lagoons and dropped poisons in them that lead to deaths of huge quantities of the fishes which then floated to the surface. The dead fishes were skimmed and later instantly burnt. Some quantities were put into holes in the ground and buried.
People are no doubt very grateful for this happening. But they are not entirely free from anxiety either. Where is the guarantee, they ask, that the crime will not resume in the future ? After all, a great deal of enthusiasm for the fish breeders was noted as the mobile court engaged in its operations. Beneficiaries of the crime in nearby villages turned the Shyampur area where the lagoons are located, into a dangerous conflict zone. They tried to surround the policemen who were with the mobile team and pelted stones on the later in waves all throughout the day. They also barricaded roads and were even successful in laying their hands on some quantities of the dead fishes and got away with the same. No doubt, the looted hazardous fishes would be marketed as usual.
Mobile courts have been taking actions against different areas against hazardous goods and substances that can harm people's health. Offences were detected in the preparation of confectionery items, sweetmeats, cooking oil and other edibles. The producers of fake medicines and sub standard drugs were also subjected to the operation of the mobile courts. The mobile courts were seen operating with a regularity for a while and, as a consequence, considerable awakening among the offenders was noted as they were seen taking steps to improve their operations out of a concern to escape the paying of penalties. But there had been also lapses in the frequency or regularity in the operation of the mobile courts in recent months. Taking advantage of the same, the offenders are sensed to be restarting their activities in many cases.
So, people's concern now is whether a similar slack after one big successful operation, will also mar the achievement of the crackdown against the raising of fishes in sewer lagoons. This has been posing as a very big and continuous threat to public health. Fishes from these lagoons used to be supplied abundantly in the city's markets and consumed by people in the city. Water mixed with human excreta like the waters of the lagoons owned by the Water and Sewerage Authority (WASA) contain deadly germs from human bodies such as the germs of typhoid, hepatitis B, cholera, syphills, etc. Fishes reared in such waters are also expected to carry these germs and on their consumption by healthy humans the germs can only find new human victims. So, it should be obvious to all why consumption of such hazardous fishes must be absolutely prevented for all times to come.
Therefore, hard vigilance over the lagoons must become a regular activity of the police from now on. A permanent police presence should be there mainly to ensure that fishes are not sought to be bred in the sewer lagoons again. Immediate actions will have to be taken against the officials of WASA who were party to this crime. Without their cooperation, of course in exchange for pecuniary benefits, the breeders would not be able to do what they had been doing. The police should search out the villages and find out the breeders and their local accomplices. No compromise in the matter should be allowed.
People of the area must get the right signal that some of them were only helping an abominable crime and that none can save them from punishment. Tough actions in this regard will have a deterrent effect. The local people who tried to riot against the police should be all arrested and charged for obstructing rightful policing activities. Steps should be particularly taken against some local politicos who claim to be people's representatives at the grass roots level. These politicos were directly protecting the fish breeders. None should be spared. The fish breeders, of course, should be charged with all the offences applicable and no leniency or favour should be allowed in the matter. Only the doing of these things and maintaining a strong police presence in the area, can create some assurance that people in this city of over 10 million people will not have to again eat fishes raised in sewer treatment ponds.
It has been also heartening to note that mobile courts are monitoring the smearing of fishes with formalin for preservation. The use of formalin, thus, has come down to almost nil, according to reports. But in this area also, regular monitoring or vigilance would be required to offset the reappearance of the deadly practice which posed such a great threat to the health of citizens.
All responsible quarters should also take time out to think about their role in relation to these issues. For example, reports appeared in the press -- though these were few in number -- suggesting that the fishes from the sewer lagoons can be released in fresh water bodies and these would ultimately become purified. According to such reports, this would also be a better disposal method saving resources. But how can such quarters, holding this view, be sure, scientifically, that these fishes can get purified on release in fresh water bodies.? Furthermore, many of these fishes on being released into relatively fresh water bodies may be netted soon and sold in the markets for consumption. These fishes would not get time for purification, if the purification theory is at all acceptable, and continue to hazard the health of their consumers. Thus, all quarters should seriously think over the issue, before spreading any misinformation or wrong information. People's health is too big a concern to be sacrificed to promote such narrow views.