Potato farmers and traders staged a hunger strike at the Rangpur Deputy Commissioner’s office on Wednesday (July 1), demanding lower cold storage preservation rates.
The strike began at 11:45 a.m. at the banyan tree inside the Kachari Bazar area DC office compound. Protesters gathered in large numbers despite the intense heat, with some wearing burial shrouds. DC Mohammad Ruhul Amin ended the strike after approximately two hours by offering sherbet and announcing the formation of a seven-member committee to determine a fair rate within 15 days.
Tayyebur Rahman, district president of the potato farmers and traders association, said the cold storage association had set the preservation rate at 430 taka per 60-kilogram bag, pushing per-kilogram storage costs to approximately seven taka. Combined with other expenses, the total production cost exceeds 24 taka per kilogram, while the market price is only 16 to 17 taka, he said.
Rahman accused association president Mostafa Azad Chowdhury Babu, owner of more than 10 cold storages, of running a syndicate to inflate rates. He pointed out that the same quantity costs only 280 taka to store in Munshiganj.
Rahman said the farmers had previously blocked the six-lane highway at Modern Mor in Rangpur on June 17 over the same demand, and the DC had promised to form an investigation committee but had not done so until the hunger strike forced the issue.
The DC arrived at the protest site at 2 p.m. and announced that a seven-member committee led by Additional DC (General) Romiz Alam had been formed, with the Agricultural Marketing Directorate’s deputy director as member secretary. The committee includes representatives from the agriculture extension directorate, traders, farmers, and cold storage owners.
Chowdhury denied the syndicate allegation, saying the association is charging 6.32 taka per kilogram — below the agriculture ministry’s benchmark of 6.75 taka per kilogram. He said cold storage operators have asked the government for a higher rate to offset rising electricity costs and called for legal action against those creating disturbances.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report