The upazila nirbahi officer (UNO) of Jhenaidah Sadar has given the owner of a truck carrying 420 sacks of TSP fertiliser seven days to submit valid papers for the load, although the driver could not show any valid invoice when the truck was stopped. The owner of the truck and the fertiliser, Shovon Mia, even admitted to local people that he had been supplying fertiliser illegally and promised not to do it again. He then slipped away through the crowd. Giving the owner seven days to produce papers, after a truck was held on a charge of carrying fertiliser illegally, has raised questions about the administration’s role.
Local people have begun to act themselves after a run of cases of fertiliser being hoarded and moved illegally in the district. They say irregularities in fertiliser marketing are growing because the administration does not act in time and because of a syndicate of dishonest traders. Although there is no shortage of supply, they say, flaws in distribution mean genuine farmers are not getting the fertiliser they need. This creates an artificial shortage and gives dishonest traders a chance to damage the government’s image.
Local people stopped the truck at about 7:30pm on Tuesday (10 November) in the Cadet College area on the Jhenaidah-Kushtia highway. Its registration number is Rajbari-Ta-11-0141. It had been loaded with 420 sacks of TSP fertiliser at Noapara in Jashore, bound for Kushtia. Growing suspicious, the local people stopped the truck and asked the driver for the papers for the fertiliser. The driver could not show any memo or valid invoice. The driver and his helper then fled.
Sajjadul Islam, who saw it happen, said the deputy commissioner, the police and the agriculture department were informed after the truck was stopped. Although the spot is inside the town, officials took about two hours to arrive, which angered local people. The truck stayed in the custody of detectives in the town’s Arappur area until 11pm and was then taken to Jhenaidah Sadar police station.
Sajjadul Haque Milon, a district Jubo Dal leader who was at the scene, said local people stopped the truck in front of the cadet college after a tip-off about fertiliser smuggling, and then called them. When they asked the driver for papers for the fertiliser, he could not show any. The truck held 420 sacks of TSP fertiliser. He said they, together with Majedul Haque, general secretary of the truck workers’ union, informed the officer-in-charge (OC) of Sadar police station and the superintendent of police.
Sajedur Rahman Milon, a member of the district truck owners’ association, said he went to the scene on hearing the news and saw the truck the local people had stopped. He alleged that dishonest traders were buying and selling fertiliser illegally to damage the government’s image, and called for quick legal action.
Shovon Mia, the owner of the truck and the fertiliser, admitted to local people that he had supplied fertiliser illegally. “Supplying illegal fertiliser was a grave mistake on my part,” he said. “The fertiliser was loaded and sent from Meghloy Ghat in Noapara by a man named Sourav. I will not commit such an offence again.” After saying this he slipped away through the crowd. So while Shovon Mia admitted responsibility for supplying fertiliser illegally, he also claimed that a man named Sourav had loaded and sent it.
Given the owner’s own words and his escape from the scene, the administration’s decision to give him seven days to submit valid papers has been questioned.
Sadar UNO Dipa Rani Sarkar said the truck and its fertiliser were being kept at Sadar police station. The owner has been given seven days to provide valid papers, and action will be taken under the rules after that, she said.
Kamruzzaman, deputy director of the Department of Agricultural Extension (DAE) in Jhenaidah, said local people had stopped the truck and handed it to police, and agriculture officials went to the scene afterwards. If the fertiliser has no papers, it will be taken into government custody, he said.
Asked about the owner being given time to submit papers, he said: “Why are you asking me? The upazila nirbahi officer and the Sadar agriculture officer will look into it.” He then said he did not want to talk about it and hung up.
Earlier, on Monday (9 November), there were allegations that fertiliser was being hoarded illegally on two trucks at Dugdugi Bazar in Madhuhati union of Jhenaidah Sadar upazila.
Local people say they told the upazila administration and the agriculture department, but no effective action was taken at the time. They say officials were sent but went back without doing anything. Later, at about 9pm, local people stopped the two trucks as the hoarded fertiliser was being moved away in secret.
Such repeated cases of fertiliser hoarding and transport in the district have raised questions about how fertiliser marketing is supervised. Local people allege that because the administration takes no effective action against the fertiliser syndicate, dishonest traders are able to hoard and move fertiliser illegally. As a result, genuine farmers are going without the fertiliser they need even though supply is normal.
বাংলায় মূল প্রতিবেদন পড়ুন · Read the original Bengali report