Hawkers are selling drugs of all diseases by using microphones in the remote villages of various upazilas of Rajshahi district. With songs and attractive propaganda they were drawing the attention of common people and luring them to purchase those drugs.
After visiting some villages of the Godagari and Durgapur upazilas, this correspondent came to learn of such incidents of selling drugs and ointments by hawkers recently.
According to sources, at Chuniyapara village under Durgapur upazila on Sunday. Hawkers Matiar Rahman and his assistant Abdul Haque of Dinajpur were selling sub-standard, non-approved drugs made of various herbs, shrubs and leaves through songs and attractive propaganda by microphone.
It is learnt, the sounds of songs attracted a large number of people of the village and surrounding areas. The hawkers then started showing off flowers, fruits, roots and branches of various types of plants and trees, promising that those cure all kinds of diseases. On Wednesday late afternoon, the same hawkers were seen to visit and sell drugs the same way at Rajabarihat under Godagari upazila.
Simple-minded village people started buying those drugs seemingly to cure their diseases. Zahid (55), Saiful(36), Masum(48) and some women who bought the drugs informed, they bought the drugs because the hawkers’ description matched their diseases. They also informed, there were no consultation fees for the doctors and they were visiting the market to purchase goods. As the price of the drugs were only Tk 20 to 40 so they wanted to try using those. They also think by the lectures of hawkers that the drugs will cure them effectively.
Mainul Islam(65) of Basatapur village under Godagari upazila informed he has been suffering from pain of backbones for a long time. He has consulted many local doctors at the hospital but there was no respite from the sufferings.
As a result, he was purchasing the drug from Hawker Matiur which seemed very promising and curable.
Hawker Matiur Rahman informed that his drugs cure many incurable, complex diseases and claims that it’s his family business. He has been helping people by selling drugs for a long time. People from distant places come to buy his drugs. Upon questioning about his nightly visits to the village, he informed, males go to markets at day time but at night they can treat males and females as well.
Durgapur Upazila Health and Family Planning Official sources informed, people should stay away from getting treatment by hawkers and instead of curing the diseases, the drugs will only make the diseases more complex in the long term. The sources also asked the people to remain alert from those hawkers and notify police about their illegal drug trading.
Confessing the incidents as true, Abdur Rashid, a local political leader of the Rajabari area informed, he met the hawkers and ordered them not to cheat the poor people. He further ordered them not to create propaganda at night. The hawkers left the area after he warned them not to continue with their trade of illegal drug selling by cheating simple village people.