3 illegal jar water factories sealed

Executive Magistrate Anwar Pasha, centre, during a drive in the capital's Tejgaon yesterday to seal off three unauthorised drinking water supplying factories which used to fill jars with tapwater for sale. Rapid Action Battalion-2 and a Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institution representative assisted the drive. Photo: Banglar Chokh

Just a day before World Water Day celebrations promote access to safe drinking water, a mobile court yesterday sealed off three unauthorised drinking water supplying factories in the capital's Tejgaon and penalised 15 persons, including one of the owners.
Around 1,500 dirty water jars were also destroyed during the drive while two owners of the remaining factories went into hiding, said Executive Magistrate Anwar Pasha who led the raid with assistance from Rapid Action Battalion-2 and a Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institution representative.
Using no specific brand or water or jar purification processes, let alone chemists and laboratories, the factories used to fill the jars with tapwater for sale, he said.
Khandaker AK Azad, 30, was sentenced to two years in jail and fined Tk 1 lakh, in default to serve three more months, while the remaining 14, all employees, were each fined Tk 7,000, in default to serve 15 days in jail.
The factories were sealed off several times earlier but the miscreants always returned, he said.
“This fraud business sees a boom during the hot summer months when demand for water rises,” he said, adding that consuming this water can lead to deadly water-borne diseases.
Earlier, over 150 such factories had been sealed off while the jar suppliers caught and penalised for providing unclean products, said a press release from Anwar.