Govt finally acts on HC ban order

Though the High Court (HC) banned sale and display of eight brands of powdered milk 'contaminated with melamine' on October 23 the government apparently took no measures until yesterday.
Health Adviser AMM Shawkat Ali after a meeting on Sunday and at a press conference yesterday said they would strictly follow the HC order. The district administrations have been asked to form committees to monitor markets and conduct drives, he added.
But officials of the civil administration in the capital and major cities last night told The Daily Star they did not receive any such order.
Meanwhile, a contempt of court petition was filed with the HC against the government yesterday for not complying with the HC order, which restricts display and sale of the powdered milk until receipt of test results from abroad.
The brands in question are Australia's Diploma and Red Cow, Denmark's Dano Full Cream, China's Yashili-1, Yashili-2 and Sweet Baby-2, and New Zealand's Nido Fortified Instant and Anlene.
Samples of these brands have been sent to a laboratory in Bangkok and at the laboratories of Bangladesh Council for Scientific and Industrial Research and Bangladesh Atomic Energy Commission. The results are expected to be available in next three days.
Advocate Manzil Murshid, counsel for Human Rights and Peace for Bangladesh, filed the petition seeking issuance of a rule upon Home Secretary Abdul Karim, Health Secretary AMM Nasir Uddin Chowdhury, Commerce Secretary Feroz Ahmed and IGP Nur Mohammad to explain why contempt of court proceedings will not be issued against them for not complying with the HC order.
He prayed to the HC bench of Justice ABM Khairul Haque and Justice Md Abdul Hye to take up the contempt petition for hearing the same day, but the bench fixed today for hearing.
Manzil in his petition stated that his petition involved great public importance and a question of safety of future generation, but the government did not take any step to comply with the order.
Talking to The Daily Star, Zillar Rahman, deputy commissioner (DC) of Dhaka, said, "I have not received any order of forming any committee. The order may come tomorrow [Tuesday]. We will work as instructed."
Sellers, mainly the retailers, were seen still displaying the banned milk brands.
Some retailers however hid those in fear of drives. The brands were not found in most department stores in the capital.
The Bogra district administration also did not receive any instruction regarding drives or monitoring the markets, says our staff correspondent in Bogra quoting the DC.
A team of executive magistrates on Saturday went to the markets to see if sellers were displaying the banned brands, reports our staff correspondent in Chittagong.
"The drive may officially start tomorrow [Tuesday] on receipt of the government order," an official of Chittagong district administration said.
Meanwhile, the health adviser at a press conference at the secretariat yesterday said, "We will strictly enforce the High Court order regarding the powdered milk."
Briefing the decisions taken at an inter-ministerial meeting on Sunday, the adviser said the government has already started taking steps to comply with the order.
He said BSTI has already completed melamine tests of 32 other brands of powdered milk and will test five varieties of chocolates.
The laboratories of the country will also be upgraded and the manpower trained, the adviser said.
BSTI Director General Azmal Hossain said they have collected all sorts of pasteurized and condensed milk brands for melamine testing.