In a series of mobile court drives conducted by the Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institution (BSTI), widespread irregularities, including the sale of uncertified animal feed, counterfeit popular toiletries, and unauthorized food items, have been unearthed in Dhaka and Narayanganj.
The operations were carried out on Sunday (July 26) across Rupganj in Narayanganj, as well as Basila and Hazaribagh in Dhaka, resulting in total fines of BDT 14,80,000 imposed on seven institutions.
Narayanganj: Feed and Battery Manufacturers Fined
During the drive in Rupganj, led by Executive Magistrate Sabekun Nahar, authorities discovered that prominent companies ACI Godrej Agrovet Private Limited and Aftab Feed Products Limited were manufacturing, selling, and distributing poultry and fish feed without obtaining any quality certification or packaging registration certificates from BSTI.
For these offenses under the BSTI Act-2018 and the Weights and Measures Standards Act-2018, both companies were slapped with BDT 4,00,000 each, totaling BDT 8,00,000.
Additionally, in the Tarabo area of Rupganj, Jizou Industry Limited was fined BDT 2,00,000 under both laws for manufacturing lead-acid starter batteries without valid quality certification.
Dhaka: Counterfeit Toiletries and Unapproved Food Outlets Busted
In the Basila area of Dhaka, a mobile court led by Executive Magistrate Lutfunnessa Khanm uncovered alarming counterfeiting rings. Two establishments—Aman Consumer & Toiletries and Standard Consumer & Toiletries—were found manufacturing and marketing substandard hand wash and liquid toilet cleaners bearing deceptively similar names, packaging, and branding resembling popular household products like Lizol, Harpic, and Vim. The two enterprises were fined a combined BDT 3,50,000.
Meanwhile, in Dhaka’s Hazaribagh area, operations led by Executive Magistrate Md. Mahbubul Islam targeted food retailers. The sweetmeat showroom Mithai was fined BDT 1,00,000 for selling sweets, biscuits, and laccha semai without quality certificates. Furthermore, Apurba Anondo Jol Khabar was penalized BDT 30,000 for marketing sweets and curd without BSTI approval.
Official Presence
The drives were attended by several senior BSTI officials, including Deputy Director K. M. Hanif, Assistant Director (Metrology) Md. Rakibul Alam, and Field Officers Md. Rashed Al Mamun, Borhan Uddin, and Sumaiya Afroze Liza.
