Chittagong Bureau :
Chittagong Fruit Bebashee Samity (FBS) observed a 7 hours token strike from 6 am yesterday protesting the harassment by the different govt agencies to fruit merchants in the name of formalin tests.
They alleged that Science & Technology Institute , National Food Safety Laboratory and BUET are conducting the formalin test in seasonal fruits by a faulty equipment named Formalidihyde Jet -300 . The fruit importers, stockholders, wholesalers are being harassed in the name of formalin, they alleged. In this connection, a press meet was also arranged at chittagong Press Club yesterday afternoon where placed six point demands to the govt. General secretary of the FBS Haji Md. Alamgir readout the written statement before the newsmen. FBS placed 8 point demands to the govt before the press meet. Demands are – 1) to refrain for harassing the fruit merchants without laboratory test of formalin 2) to aware the common people about the affects of formalin , 3) to declare formalin free fruit markets 4) to remove the controvery over the formalin testing equipments 5) to remove the panicks among the common people about the false propagandas of formalin through testing in faulty Jet-300 equipments and 6) to compensate the fruit merchants with return of penalty so realized from the fruit traders and the cost of destroyed fruits.
On the other hand , the importers decline to take delivery of 200 containers of imported fruits that lying in Chittagong Port. The L/C cost of these fruits is about Tk.20 crores. FBS sources said 200 containers consists of 120 containers Malta, 75 containers Apple and 5 containers grapes. Centring the anti-fruit adulteration drive in city, the importers declining to receive the imported fruits from port, sources said.
Two electrocuted
Chittagong Bureau
Two persons were electrocuted while attempting to charge the battery of a motor-driven rickshaw at the city’s Ambagan area under Khulshi thana on Wednesday night.
Sources said the dead are rickshaw puller Md. Hanif alias Bachhu(27) and night guard Md. Mintoo(40).
