Local farmers have seized 290 sacks of government fertiliser that they say were being smuggled by river out of Bhola Sadar upazila. They allege that fertiliser allocated to Bhola’s farmers was being taken out of the district to be sold at higher prices instead of being given to them.
On being informed, the upazila administration went to the spot, recovered the fertiliser and sealed it in a warehouse. The Bangladesh Krishak Oikya Foundation, a farmers’ group, has blamed the upazila agriculture officer.
The fertiliser was put in a warehouse and sealed on Wednesday (4 November). It had been stopped late on Tuesday night (3 November) at Daroga canal in the Pakarmatha area of ward 6, East Ilisha union. People familiar with the matter said that under cover of darkness on Tuesday, the fertiliser was brought on a nasimon, a locally made motor-cart, and was being loaded onto a trawler moored in the canal. Acting on a tip-off, local farmers went there and asked to see the papers for the fertiliser. When the people with the trawler could not show valid papers, the angry farmers held the consignment. It contained 180 sacks of DAP and 110 sacks of TSP.
The people on the trawler said they had bought the fertiliser from a local dealer in Bhola and were preparing to take it to farmers in the chars.
The farmers say dishonest dealers were smuggling fertiliser out of Bhola for extra profit instead of selling it to ordinary farmers at the government price.
Shahabuddin Faraji, president of the Bangladesh Krishak Oikya Foundation, said: “In reality there is no fertiliser shortage in Bhola. Yet, surprisingly, Bhola’s farmers are not getting government-subsidised fertiliser. Upazila agriculture officer Kamrul Hasan is directly involved in the chaos over fertiliser in Bhola Sadar. A farmer who needs 50 sacks is approved for 10 sacks of subsidised fertiliser. The farmer has to buy the other 40 sacks from dealers at a higher price.”
He added: “The agriculture officer surely gets a share of that extra price. Dealers also give good subsidised fertiliser only to farmers who pay extra; the others get spoiled fertiliser. The 290 seized sacks could not have been brought here without the collusion of the upazila agriculture officer. We demand strict government action against those involved in manipulating fertiliser.”
Bhola Sadar upazila agriculture officer Md Kamrul Hasan, an agriculturist, called the allegations baseless. He said initial information showed the fertiliser was being taken to farmers in isolated chars of Bhola Sadar upazila and of Alimabad union in Barishal. It is claimed that farmers had bought it to grow watermelon, capsicum, snake gourd and cucumber on various chars. Whether any farmer or dealer drew fertiliser on forged papers will be investigated, and legal action will follow, he said.
Bhola Sadar Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) Sajal Kumar Das said no valid papers for the fertiliser were found after it was held. It has been recovered and sealed in a local warehouse. An investigation is under way and further legal action will be taken, he said.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report