Dhaka, Bangladesh (daily-sun.com) — October 16, 2023 — The Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) has decided to import a fresh consignment of Bacillus thuringiensis israelensis (BTI) bacteria to control mosquito as the BTI items imported and supplied by contractor Marshal Agrovet using fraudulent means are currently in police custody.
Its officials told the Daily Sun they have already written to the local government, rural development and cooperatives (LGRD) ministry for approval to import BTI directly as the scourge of dengue continues in the country.
The death toll from dengue infection reached 1,169 as 2,39,614 people in the country contracted the disease till 15 October. In Dhaka city, 730 people died and 92,005 were hospitalised till then.
DNCC Chief Executive Officer Selim Reza told the Daily Sun on 13 October that the Gulshan police had seized the BTI items supplied by Marshal Agrovet and so these cannot be used now.
“Now we have no legal basis for using those. We are thinking about alternatives. We will import it directly from international producers. We have already written to the LGRD ministry to get approval for direct purchase.”
He also said, “We are trying to expedite the process as the number of dengue patients is still rising. If our proposal gets approval early, we can import the biological pesticide within three months. We are trying to import the effective pesticide as early as possible.”
DNCC Deputy Chief Health Officer Golam Mustafa Sarwar said they were using Malathion to kill adult mosquitoes and temefos, malaria oil ‘B’, and Novaluron to destroy larvae.
He said the DNCC needs a licence to import BTI pesticides directly. So, it is preparing to acquire the licence to purchase the best product at a reasonable price after scrutinising different producers.
Earlier, the DNCC appointed Marshal Agrovet Chemical Industries Ltd through a tender to get a supply of 5 tonnes of BTI worth Tk1.69 crore. The importer violated the terms and conditions of the contract by importing the product from China but claiming that it came from Singapore, which was one of the countries stipulated in the contract. Marshal Agrovet introduced a Chinese national as an agent of Best Chemical Co (S) Pte Ltd of Singapore. But Best Chemical said the person was not their agent.
Later, the DNCC filed a case against Marshal Agrovet and seized Tk16.9 lakh of the company’s security money.
A Dhaka court on 9 October sent three persons, including Marshal Agrovet Chairman Mohammad Ali, to jail in the case filed on charges of fraudulent activities.