Allegations of bias in Chitalmari fertiliser allocation

Bagerhat Correspondent :

There have been allegations of bias in the dealer-based allocation of non-urea fertilizer in Chitalmari under Bagerhat district. Here, 99 metric tons of non-urea was allocated to a BCIC fertilizer dealer in January, while 20 metric tons were given to a BADC fertilizer dealer. This unequal allocation of fertilizer has been going on for a long time, not only in January.

To get rid of this extreme discrimination, Ferdous Sheikh, the only BADC fertilizer and seed dealer in the Upazila, has applied to various departments several times. But he did not get any benefit.

On Monday morning, BADC fertilizer and seed dealer Ferdous Sheikh said, I have a business named M/S. Sheikh Brothers in the Sadar Bazar of Chitalmari Upazila. I am the only BADC fertilizer and seed dealer in the Upazila. I have been doing business with the farmers of this Upazila with good reputation for 28 years.

There is a huge demand for chemical fertilizers in this Upazila in the fields of agriculture, fisheries and crop production.

But due to the bias in the monthly allocation distribution from the Upazila Agriculture Office, I am not able to provide fertilizer to the farmers properly. In our neighboring districts and Upazilas, BADC non-urea fertilizer is distributed equally between BADC dealers and BCIC dealers.

But in our Upazila alone, although 99 metric tons were given to a BCIC fertilizer dealer, I was given only 20 metric tons which is very little for the demand as the Sadar Union of Chitalmari Upazila.

In this way, I am being deprived of fertilizer distribution for months together. I have applied and submitted written applications to various departments concerned to get redress in this incident, but I have not received any response.