HC order on ‘rotten wheat’ 8 July

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The Directorate General of Food on Sunday submitted a report before the High Court claiming that the wheat imported from Brazil is fit for human consumption.

On receiving the report submitted by the director general Foyez Ahmed of the directorate, a joint HC bench comprised of Justice Kazi Rezaul Haque and Justice Abu Taher Md Saifur Rahman fixed 8 July for passing an order on this issue.

The report was handed over to Deputy Attorney General Tapos Kumar Biswas in compliance with the HC order.

Barrister Mahbubuddin Khokon in the hearing said the director general of the Directorate General of Food declared that the imported wheat is eatable although none of the tests submitted with the report reveals that the wheat is eatable.

Rather, the lawyer said, it said that the imported wheat is not as same as which was submitted as a sample. “The imported wheat contains broken grains and is less in weight also.”

He also termed the report “incomplete.”

The Bangladesh Council of Scientific and Industrial Research (BCSIR) recently found that the imported Brazilian wheat is substandard, raising questions about the results of the tests carried out by the food ministry.

Earlier on 29 June, the HC following a writ petition asked the food directorate to submit a report before it in 72 hours whether the wheat is fit for human consumption.

The writ petition was filed with the High Court challenging the legality of the import and distribution of the “substandard” wheat from Brazil.

Source: Prothom Alo