The authorities have imposed a Tk 0.10 million fine on a restaurant operated by Amin Mohammad Group near Hazrat Shahjalal International Airport after hundreds of Middle East-bound migrants reportedly fell sick from eating there.
A mobile court penalised the 'Airport Restaurant' during a raid on Thursday, said Reazul Haque, deputy director of Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institution, reports bdnews24.com.
"BSTI officials conducted a raid within the airport area following reports that migrants who had meals there were falling sick after reaching their destinations."
Gazi Ahmed Ullah, a spokesman for Amin Mohammad Group, said the restaurant was fined for keeping "coarse salt" in its kitchen.
“The salt was originally brought in to clean fish. The restaurant uses iodized salt to cook meals. But no one could properly explain the matter to the mobile court."
He claims that the restaurant operates in keeping with all the hygiene and cleanliness rules.
The embassies of Qatar and the United Arab Emirates recently reported that several arrivals had contracted stomach ailments shortly after leaving Dhaka in December.
The UAE counted 120 such cases while the number was 60 in Qatar, State Minister for Foreign Affairs Shahriar Alam had said on Wednesday.