Authorities in Ctg move against unlicensed hand sanitiser sellers

Multiple drives are underway in the port city against shops selling fake hand sanitisers. In many cases, the traders are making the product themselves and selling them, without approval of drug administration department.

On Monday, a perfume trader was selling hand sanitiser at Khatunganj area of the city, charging Tk 250 for a 500 ml bottle. When a mobile court team of Chattogram District Administration entered the lane, the man attempted to close the shop immediately, but the court got there in time and seized fake hand sanitisers.

The local administration has found that fake hand sanitisers are being sold at multiple areas of Chattogram city, including Kalur Ghat, Sadar Ghat, and Hazari Lane. A huge quantity of fake sanitisers has been seized and Tk 75,000 has been collected as fine from seven traders.

Executive Magistrate Shirin Akter told The Daily Star, "Harmful sanitisers, raw materials and expired hand-washing products were seized during the raids. We conducted several drives and fined sellers for exploiting people amid a crisis."

"During the drive we found three perfume sellers in Khatunganj area selling fake hand sanitisers, although they have a license for selling perfume," said the magistrate.

"They produce and sell sanitiser but they don't use the right ingredients and they don't have permission from drug administration department to produce it," she added.

 Omar Faruque, executive magistrate of Chattogram District Administration told The Daily Star, "Some seasonal traders have taken advantage of this opportunity to become hand sanitiser manufacturers themselves. Pharmacy owners, cosmetics traders, perfume traders are making these without license. We have tested these fake sanitisers in the lab and found that they contain harmful ingredients which can be carcinogenic instead of disinfecting."

A mobile court on Sunday fined Rupsazza cosmetics shop in Hazari Lane Tk 20,000 for selling fake hand sanitiser.

Owner of the shop, Aminul Islam, told The Daily Star that the hand sanitiser was made using the right ingredients. "Due to the crisis in the market, we bought various chemicals and made them ourselves," he claimed. However, he admitted that they do not have a license to make hand sanitiser.

Hossain Mohammad Imran, assistant director of Directorate of Drug Administration, Chattogram, said, "A hand sanitiser is prepared in a laboratory by mixing different chemicals in certain proportions. If the proportions are not maintained, then it can prove harmful."