As it usually happens during the time of a pandemic, a scrupulous group of traders and businessmen emerges to exploit the demand of protective gears, profiting at the cost of people`s peril. What`s happening in Bangladesh with manufacturing of fake masks and PPE`s is deplorable.

Apart from ordinary citizens procuring masks from street vendors, our public hospitals have been badly hit from being supplied with poor quality face masks. According to a lead news report of this newspaper, JMI, a supplier of the Central Medical Stores Depot (CMSD) have been noticeably engaged in supplying with fake N 95 facemasks. And it is happening as the government`s health department is being sharply criticised for providing substandard N95 facemasks to the frontline doctors and medical staff.
However, a powerful and strong syndicate is reportedly controlling the government`s Health Department. The syndicate is reportedly backed with large sums of funds while holding sway over the Health Department for over a decade.
This syndicate also supplied various types of substandard and fake medical devices to the public hospitals.
What`s mysterious is that the Heath Department has not taken any action against the dubious supplier. The supplier had also supplied fake substandard N95 facemasks to Mugda General Hospital. The hospital authority found, although boxes labelled 300 facemasks were "N95," they contained no such facemasks. Other hospitals also complained of the quality of the personal protective gears.
The government formed a probe committee to investigate into the supply of fake N95 facemasks. The committee report suggested taking action against the officials who received the products labelled N95 facemasks. However, rather curiously it did not suggest any action against the supplier, JMI.

The point here, it is not only JMI, a number of scheming manufacturers have indulged in producing substandard PPE`s ranging from hand gloves, masks to hand sanitizers. The offenders are clearly playing with the people`s health and safety issue. It must stop right away.