Ten lawyers have sent legal notices to the government and related parties to stop the selling of various types of unhealthy foods in dirty environments in front of various hospitals, schools, colleges, markets and sidewalks.
It has been asked in the notices to take action within 24 hours.
Supreme Court Lawyer Md JR Khan Robin sent notice in the form of public interest litigation on Thursday on behalf of 10 lawyers in the country.
The 10 lawyers are– Supreme Court lawyer Shammi Akhtar, Dhaka Judge Court lawyers Md Bahauddin Al Imran, Md Hasan Milu, Abid Hossain, Imran Hossain, Zahid Hasan Fahad, ATM Rezaun, Shahen Shah, Md Arshad Ali and Md Sumon Hossain.
The notice has been sent to a total of seven people, including the secretary of the Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, the inspector general of Bangladesh Police, the director general of the Directorate General of Health Services, the chairman of the Bangladesh Safe Police Station Authority, the director general of the Directorate of National Consumers' Right Protection and the two chief executive officers of Dhaka North and South City Corporation.
According to the notice, human consumption of food is essential for survival. But if the food is unsafe, then it can cause various diseases and death of people.
At present, various types of unhealthy foods are sold in dirty environments in front of hospitals, schools, colleges, markets and sidewalks in Dhaka. These foods pose a threat to public health.
In many countries around the world, street food is prepared and served in a hygienic environment.
But most of the street foods in Bangladesh are prepared in a dirty and unhygienic environment.
As a result, a large number of people who eat these foods every day, are at great health risk.
The roads and sidewalks where these foods are sold belong to the two city corporations of Dhaka.
Dhaka North and South City Corporation do not have a system for registering or approving street food stalls. Neither authority has any list of street food vendors.
The activities of the Bangladesh Food Safety Authority, which is responsible for monitoring food quality, are also very limited.
In this regard, Prothom Alo and Bangladesh Pratidin published two news articles titled “No initiative to make street food safe” and “Street food increasing health risks” last Thursday and Tuesday respectively.
Selling unhygienic food is contradictory to sections 25, 29 and 33 of the Food Safety Act, 2013 and sections 27, 29, and 36 of the Consumer Rights Protection Act, 2009.
Moreover, despite the provision of Article 18(1) and Article 32 of the constitution regarding public health, the notice recipients have failed to take necessary steps in this regard.
Therefore, the lawyers were motivated as per the provisions of Article 21 of the constitution to send this notice in order to protect the fundamental rights of the people of Bangladesh.
For the mentioned reasons, the recipients of these notices were requested to take necessary measures to stop the selling of unhealthy food in the dirty environment in front of hospitals, schools, colleges, markets, sidewalks and adjacent areas of the capital within 24 hours of receiving these notices.
The notices also said that the mentioned clients will be forced to take legal measures according to the existing laws of the country including filing a writ in the high court in case the recipients failed to stop the selling.