NBSM seals two cement factories

KATHMANDU, AUG 21 -

Nepal Bureau of Standards & Metrology (NBSM) on Tuesday sealed two cement factories — Butwal Cement Mills and Shubha Shree Jagadamba — for manufacturing and selling substandard products. It also barred 16 other cement factories from production and selling of their products for not acquiring Nepal Standard (NS) mark.

“We initiated action against these factories after their products failed to meet the standard,” NBSM Director General Ram Aadhar Sah said.

As per the NBSM standard, cement should have 16 MPa strength in three days of application, 22 MPa in seven days and 33 MPa in 28 days, he said. “During inspection, products of the two factories were found to having far less strengths.”

Sah said they have also cancelled NS certifications of the two factories and they have to make “necessary correction” to resume. “We will again test their trial products before allowing them to resume.”

The 16 factories facing ban on production and sales include CG Cement, Rolpa Cement, Arniko Cement, Ghorahi Cement, MJP Cement, Maruti Cement, Kailash Cement, Star Cement, Krishna Cement, KP Cement, Shree Cement, Om Cement, Eastern Cosmos Cement and International Cement, among others. “We asked these factories through a public notice to acquire the NS mark, but they ignored,” Sah said.

NBSM has also cancelled NS certification of 21 industries for failing to renew the certification on time. The industries are Asian Thai Food, Baba Paints, Janta Cable, Jasmine Paints, Yeti Paints, Kamala Rollings Mills, Bhagwati Rollings Mills, Gorkha Brewery, Yeti Plastics,  Pashupati Khadya Tel Uddhog, Premier Wires, Bandana Steels, Nepal Paints, Tandon Plastics, Golden Battery, Delta Cable and Pipe, Patawa Cable, Intertek Pipe and Fittings, Nepal Shalimar Cement and Cosmos Cements.

SOurce: The Kathmandu Post