Govt rejects HRW report on arsenic

The government today rejected Human Right Watch (HRW) report on arsenic poisoning in Bangladesh terming it as 'flawed'.

Referring to death figures cited in the report, launched yesterday, LGRD Minister Khandaker Mosharraf Hossain said "not a single person" died of arsenic poisoning recently.

"We are strongly protesting this report," the minister said at a press conference held at the local government and rural development (LGRD) ministry this afternoon.

According to the HRW report published yesterday, an estimated 43,000 people die each year from arsenic-related illness in Bangladesh.