Fertilizer allocated in name of dead dealer in Kachakata, sub-assistant agriculture officer detained
Kurigram Correspondent
A tense situation unfolded at Gabtola Bazar in Ballabherkhas Union of the proposed Kachakata Upazila in Kurigram on Friday morning over an alleged acute shortage of fertilizer and complaints that farmers were not receiving fertilizer. Frustrated farmers blocked the road and detained Sub-Assistant Agriculture Officer (BS) Rafiqul Islam inside a fertilizer warehouse.
Later, Nageshwari UNO. reached the spot, rescued the agriculture official and took him to the police station.
According to local sources, farmers had been expressing their frustration for a long time over not receiving fertilizer. At one point, the aggrieved farmers alleged that BS Rafiqul Islam had distributed fertilizer in the morning to some people from a neighboring union and his own area.
The farmers further alleged that he was distributing fertilizer with the assistance of Khorshed Alam of Shingimari village in Ballabherkhas Union. Following the incident, local residents detained the agriculture official at the warehouse. Upon receiving the information, the UNO arrived at the scene and, with the assistance of local people, took Rafiqul Islam to the police station in his official vehicle.
The Nageshwari UNO said that a total of 160 sacks of fertilizer had been allocated for the area. The fertilizer was stored in two warehouses at two distribution points, with 80 sacks allocated to each point.
During questioning, detained BS Rafiqul Islam reportedly said that the original dealer, Bhai Bhai Machinery, in whose name the fertilizer had been allocated, had already died.
When asked how fertilizer could still be allocated and supplied in the name of a deceased person, he said that the fertilizer was actually lifted in the name of a person named Khairul Alam. Later, a sub-dealer named Babu, son of Hachen Mahajan of Kedar Union, had been distributing the fertilizer.
When the issue of fertilizer being lifted in the name of a deceased dealer and the alleged unauthorized sub-dealer arrangement was brought to the attention of the UNO, he assured that the matter would be investigated seriously.
