HC on toxic feed
Judicial intervention is welcome
We appreciate the prompt move by the High Court (HC) in directing the government to temporarily shut down factories and business enterprises at Hazaribagh area that are mixing harmful tannery wastes to produce poultry and fish feed. Besides, the HC also asked the government to take necessary and effective steps in this regard. The interesting fact is the HC rule came following writ petition filed by Human Rights and Peace for Bangladesh (HRPB), which was prompted by a report titled "Toxic poultry feed poses health risk", published in The Daily Star on last Saturday. It is noteworthy that the higher judiciary, a human rights organisation and this paper is on the same page.
It is also encouraging to know that the court asked the managing director of Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institution and chairman of Bangladesh Council of Scientific and Industrial Research to collect fish, poultry and egg samples to have them tested at chemistry department of Dhaka University and submit reports within three weeks.
There is expert opinion that the use of tannery waste in poultry and fish feed poses serious health risk for humans as the hazardous waste find its way to the food chain. It is widely believed by health experts that through consumption of such hazardous elements for a long time human body becomes susceptible to cancer and other serious diseases. It is alarming to note that the dangerous practice has been going on for years together in the absence of regular monitoring of the markets and people have been unknowingly consuming contaminated poultry and fish on a daily basis. It is feared that a great damage might have been done already to the health of the people in the process. This no doubt calls for wider scientific enquiry by a competent authority.
This time around, with the HC giving clear direction to the government to take action, we hope law enforcers will not be hesitant in clamping down on the errant factories and take immediate action against the owners. Exemplary punishment should be given to send a clear message across the country since safety of the health of the citizens must come before any other consideration.
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