SM Iqbal Bahar Chowdhury, Cox's Bazar

This year has surpassed the record of salt production in the 54 years of independent Bangladesh.

Despite the bumper yield against the target of 26 lakh MT of salt production, 23 lakh MT of salt has been produced so far. The previous production record was 2.2 million metric tons. However, BSIC officials hope that if the weather is good for salt production this month, then the target will be able to be achieved in the current season. Which will be a great news for the country.

However, the marginal farmers face a different picture. It was said that the production of bumper salt would bring smiles to the farmers' faces, but instead of that, the smiles on the faces of the brokers have increased! The salt produced in Cox's Bazar district meets most of the country's needs. 23 lakh 10 thousand 918 million tons of salt produced till April 30 in a record breaking yield. A total of 66 thousand 424 acres of land including Bashkhali in Cox's Bazar district and Chittagong are being cultivated.

Bisic office Garbazar quoted 310 taka per maund, but at the field level it is 260-70 taka. And only 250 rupees goes to marginal farmers. In intense heat where people are restless at home due to unbearable heat, butchers named Faria/Dalal are looting with buckets/batkharas of salt produced in drops of hot sweat. Against the 40 ser man measurement, brokers are looting 55 to 60 ser man.

Every year the marginal farmers cry out in tears, but no one stands by them in protest. Due to this, the poor marginal farmers are silently throwing away tap water year after year. Due to which there is no smile on the faces of the farmers in the production of bumper salt, although there is a smile on the faces of the farmers in the production of salt across Facebook. In fact, not the farmers, but the broker's face has a multi-faceted smile.

Farmers' question - is there no one to consider the humanitarian aspect and stand by them to save them from the hands of brokers called butchers? Marginal oppressed farmers sought the intervention of the administration.

In search of the secret of such a smile, the verification of the information given by the farmers began, talking to people of different professions. Information is reviewed in various ways. Many said that starting from buying polythene, farmers are forced to sell land under difficult conditions, excessive commission and selling salt cheaply. Also, due to the brokers, the farmers cannot directly take barga from the land owners, the broker syndicate takes the salt flats with advance money. Then it is charged at high prices. Farmers have to take the land at their fabricated price.

Also cheating on weight becomes an unwritten law. The calculation of manna in 40 kg has increased day by day and now it is about 57-60 kg manna. Even if the price of salt falls, there is no change in brokerage commission. The broker syndicate is eating more than hundred taka commission per mana.

There is no accountability, in the interest of the farmers, the role of BSIC is not at the field level. Although there are activities of field level BSIC to improve the skills of salt farmers, many farmers do not know about it. Bisik is settling the responsibility on paper instead of field level only by calculating the production.

The concerned office has never taken any action against the broker for multi-faceted exploitation of the farmers. As a result, the determination of the price of salt depends on the will of the influential broker syndicate. As a result of multifaceted exploitation, the smile of the farmer in the crop field is no more. The salt farmers have been in the clutches of middlemen broker syndicates for a long time, there is no remedy for this. Farmers are locked up if they protest. On 10th March 24th, Mizanur Rahman, a farmer of North Nalbila area of Kalamarchhara, seized a bucket weighing salt in protest against the taking of 63 kg by the broker.

The bucket was weighed on a digital scale and found to be 17 kg 200 grams. Even after deducting the weight of the bucket, the total is 63 kg of salt. An argument ensued with the farmer and Kawali about taking one-and-a-half maunds of salt. At one point Mizan, the victim of exploitation, cut the bucket in anger. Some people praised Chashi Mizan against oppression for a few days, but they became silent in a moment due to the fear of multifaceted harassment by Dalal.

Because their business trap is like a spider's web in the society due to exploitation money. The workers are in one way or another hostage to the brokers, they are also the leaders or policy makers of the society. At present, the farmers are the most affected by the salt weighing system using buckets. From the beginning of this season, most of the time the weather is not very conducive to salt production, but in the last stage, farmers are opening their heads to produce salt. However, due to price and weight theft, the salt farming families are crying because of the fear of being deprived of fair value.

Several brokers who did not wish to reveal their names said, first of all, the mill owners took 47/48 kg of salt with one accord. That's why broker syndicates are very helpless and argue that they take 50-55 kg of salt from the farmers at the field level, but the reality is different.

Apart from this, it has been alleged that 2,000 maund capacity cargo is loaded in salt boats at 15/16 maunds. In this case, there is a secret agreement between the boat owner, the broker and the kayali, thus the marginal farmer returns home with an empty pocket at the end of the season after being crushed by several trips.

However, the hunger of a couple of handfuls of rice was quenched by the families and the brokers syndicate again during the rainy season for land and money. It is as if the farmers live inside the trap of the broker syndicate, the imagination is unimaginable outside of it. From the mill owner to the broker, the syndicate has deprived the farmers of the fair price by importing despite the record amount of salt production last year. If you want to say, where to give pain medicine? In this situation, the farmers are being exploited at the field level.

Informed circles feel that due to the lack of official supervision, the farmers who are victims of excessive oppression have surrendered to the syndicate.