Staff Reporter :
The syndicate is still in control of thousands of crores of taka fertilizers imported by the Ministry of Agriculture and Bangladesh Agriculture Corporation (BADC).
For the last 15 years, under the control of a syndicate of some officials of the Ministry of Agriculture and BADC, there have been allegations that thousands of crores worth of imported fertilizers have been left under the open sky and are becoming unusable.
This syndicate has been importing excess fertilizers from abroad for a long time, necessarily and unnecessarily and wasting them carelessly. Not only that, right now, this waste manure is mixed with good manure and sold to the innocent farmers of the villages at the market price.
Still there are about 2-3 lakh sacks of rotting manure in Muktarpur Ghat of Munshiganj district. Preparations are underway to send the fertilizer to BADC in coordination with warehouse keepers in different areas of the country. If this fertilizer is sold to poor farmers, the farmers will suffer.
However, if quick action is taken against the fertilizer syndicate, hundreds of crores of taka will be saved by the government and the farmers of the country will be saved from huge losses.
It has been alleged that the members of this syndicate have stolen hundreds of crores of taka from the government through irregularities and corruption.
Meanwhile, on Monday (October 14) in the office of the Chairman of the Anti-Corruption Commission, an application signed by one Md. Mokhleshur Rahman was submitted on behalf of the anti-corruption and anti-corruption employees of BADC to investigate and take legal action against the fertilizer syndicate.
According to the petition filed, thousands of crores of taka are being lost to the government and ordinary farmers are suffering due to the continued corruption through the syndicate of the Ministry of Agriculture.
Millions of sacks of non-urea fertilizers imported by BADC are left alone under the open sky, burnt by the sun and soaked by the rain. Ahead of the upcoming Boro season, the composite transport contractors are crossing dry and filling new sacks to BADC warehouses. But the marginal farmers will be cheated by buying spoiled fertilizers.
Due to the indifference of the concerned authorities, the important agricultural sector of the country is also suffering fatally. The departments under the Ministry of Agriculture are in the role of silent observers instead of protecting the interests of the farmers.
The complaint said, however, some unskilled contractors with the connivance of BADC’s syndicate have been selling the imported fertilizer in the black market for a long time. Banga Traders who are enlisted through fake or fake documents (which are under investigation and no legal action can be taken against them if they fail to explain to BADC and BCIC will cause huge financial loss to the government.
About 20 lakh sacks of DADC fertilizer was wasted from the transport contractor called Banga Traders last year.
It is alleged that the rotten manure is dried in the sun and mixed with good manure and sent to the warehouse of BADC.
It has been mentioned that the former chairman of BADC, Abdullah Sajjad NDC, was always involved in recruitment and transfer business. And one of the masterminds of the syndicate is Dr. Nurun Nahar Chowdhury NDC (Additional Secretary Fertilizer Management and Equipment) and her husband Ziaul Haque, former Public Administration and currently Additional Secretary on deputation to the Ministry of Roads and Highways, who handled the upper ward.
For the past 15 years, they have been controlling fertilizers by syndicating them to the Ministry of Agriculture and BADC on behalf of the Awami government. Another syndicate member is Rehana Yeasmin (Additional Secretary, Ministry of Administration, Agriculture), she uses three government vehicles:- Dhaka Metro 15-7367 (Partner Project) and two of DAE. His three drivers have been identified as Nayan-01727675766, Ataur-01748642120, and Shyamal-01712002180.
The complaint filed by the ACC also said that the storage capacity of BADC warehouses across the country is 240,000 to 250,000 metric tons of fertilizer.
But every year BADC imports 20 to 22 lakh metric tons of fertilizer. Due to the import of fertilizer in excess of the capacity, even if the fertilizer arrives on time, due to lack of space in the warehouse, they are unable to receive the entire fertilizer. Still 2-3 lakh sacks of rotten fertilizer are lying at Muktarpur Ghat in Munshiganj.
If quick action is taken against the accused persons and the syndicate, the country’s farmers and agriculture sector will be saved from huge losses along with the protection of hundreds of crores of taka.
Previously, several reports have been published in various national dailies and online news portals against BADC’s Fertilizer Syndicate alleging various irregularities, corruption and loss of hundreds of crores of taka in the name of import and protection. But the members of the syndicate are out of touch here due to the mysterious absence of the concerned authorities.