Today (August 19, 2022), hundreds of farmers in Kahalol upazila, Dinajpur blocked the road for about an hour and a half demanding fertilizer.
They lifted the blockade after official assurances that fertilizer would be provided after a list of farmers was drawn up.
Follow the Daily Star’s Google News channel for all the latest news. Farmers were stationed on the road around noon when they could not get fertilizer even after queuing at various fertilizer shops in Kahalol Bazaar, the Dinajpur correspondent reports.
Rafiqul Islam, a farmer, said farmers have not been getting fertilizer in the area for the past few days. Vendors sell the fertilizer at an additional cost of Tk 100 to Tk 200 per bag, he claimed.
He also said the local administration has stopped selling fertilizers in Upazilas from the afternoon of yesterday (18 August 2022).
Upazila Agriculture Officer Abu Jafar Mundo Sadek said Upazila has 17 fertilizer dealers in BADC and 10 fertilizer dealers in BCIC. Some farmers allege fraud against dealers in fertilizer distribution.
Meanwhile, 10 BCIC and BADC fertilizer dealers have been locked up in the Upazila on suspicion of corruption, he added.
Fertilizer was to be distributed in front of agricultural officials from this morning, but farmers blocked roads because they could not get fertilizer, the official added.
The farmers lifted the blockade when Upazila Nirvahi officer Manirul Islam and agriculture officer Sadek assured them that they would make a list of the farmers and told them to distribute fertilizers to the listed farmers.
The blockade lasted until about 1:30 pm.
