HC gives BSTI another week to submit report

The High Court yesterday extended for a week its earlier order that asked authorities concerned to check the quality of water sold in plastic bottles and other containers across the country.

It also directed Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institution (BSTI) and law enforcement agencies to examine the water and submit test reports in a week, and fixed January 21 for passing an order.

The bench of Justice Sheikh Hassan Arif and Justice Razik-Al Jalil passed the order after Deputy Attorney General Mokhlesur Rahman submitted a report from BSTI, saying that BSTI has formed several committees to examine the water sold in plastic bottles and other containers.

The committees are supposed to submit the reports by January 17; so, BSTI needs time to place the test reports to the court, he said.

Following a writ petition, the HC bench on December 3 ordered BSTI and law enforcers to immediately check quality of such water and submit the test reports to it by yesterday.

The court also issued a rule asking the authorities to explain why they should not be directed to ensure the supply of safe drinking water through authorised means and why their failure to this effect should not be declared illegal.

Petitioner's counsel Md JR Khan Robin earlier told The Daily Star that a total of 287 factories are authorised to produce plastic bottles, jars and other containers.

More than 3,000 factories are unauthorised, he added.