BEGUMGANJ, Noakhali — A mobile court fined three plants in the upazila a total of 130,000 taka for bottling tap water and selling it as mineral water. The plants were penalized for unsanitary bottling conditions and for operating without licenses or required paperwork.
The raids took place Monday afternoon at separate locations in Begumganj upazila. The mobile court was led by Begumganj Upazila Executive Officer and Executive Magistrate Md. Yasir Arafat.
A team from RAB-11, CPC-3, Noakhali camp, led by Company Commander Lt. Cmdr. Mahmudul Hasan, took part in the operation.
Authorities said the plants filled water tanks from ponds, canals and underground sources using motors, then bottled the water through taps and sold it to customers as mineral water. Acting on those complaints, RAB and the upazila administration carried out a joint raid on three water plants in Noakhali.
According to the mobile court, Mohammad Daud Hossain Faisal, managing director of Asia Drinking Water, was fined 50,000 taka; Md. Jahangir Alam, managing director of Pipasa Drinking Water, was fined 50,000 taka; and Md. Arif, managing director of AB Pure Drinking Water, was fined 30,000 taka, for a total of 130,000 taka, for not having updated factory documents or valid licenses.
Lt. Cmdr. Mahmudul Hasan confirmed the operation and said the factory owners, seeking higher profits, had been illegally bottling tap water in unsanitary conditions and marketing it as drinking water without permission from the relevant authorities. The RAB-11 team gathered intelligence and, with help from the upazila administration, jointly ran the mobile court and imposed financial penalties on the factory owners, he said.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report