Kurigram Correspondent

As he himself is a patient of high blood pressure and his wife is also a diabetic patient, the Farooq couple had to buy red rice from Dhaka on the advice of doctors. Due to the delay in the supply of rice, he decided to produce rice himself.

After that, he took the initiative to produce red rice by himself without hands and feet by using a machine. But when the machine was installed and the electrical switch was turned on, the lid kept breaking. The initiative was also collapsing.

Not being deterred by this, he continued to inquire whether anyone in the country was doing such work. Later came to know that a person named Rashid in Thankurgaon of Rangpur division was producing red rice by himself without hands and feet and selling it commercially. Getting inspiration from him, Mosharraf Hossain Farooq and Jasmin Nahar Beli, a teacher couple of Kharchpur Karim's farm Paikpara village of Kurigram town, started the work of installing automatic dhenkichatha machine at home.

The venture was not easy in the beginning. He wasted 6 cups while trying to turn on the machine after watching YouTube. Once the electric switch was switched on, two roaches broke through the tin fence of the house and fell into the yard. Luckily no one was injured. A pea was also wasted. However, he did not give up. To gain experience, he went to the house of Rashid, a former meter reader, in Ranishinkhal, Thakurgao district, along with a local lather, Sophie.

After seeing the machine he made there, he started installing the machine at home with that idea. Almost 6 months of effort came to fruition in December. He bought tetul trees from different places and made new pots and stored them.

Mosharraf Hossain Farooq said that he spent a total of 2 lakh 8 thousand taka to start the machine. It cost 36 thousand taka to buy two peas, 35 thousand taka to buy parts, 2 thousand taka to buy two tanks, 35 thousand taka to build warehouse and factory and 1 lakh to mechanics.

The production has started from January 30 this year. He has been producing rice for a month. Now the machine is running normally. He said, it takes 40 minutes to produce one maund of rice in this machine. But it has to be broken twice. 4 to 6 tons of rice can be extracted in a day. 4/6 women workers are assisting him in this work.

He also said that 25 kg of red rice is available in one bushel of rice. 2 thousand 250 comes in the market at the price of 90 taka. It costs about 1 thousand 400 taka including the labor to bring this type of rice to home.

Mosharraf Hossain Farooq said that the biggest challenge in Lalchal is to collect this type of rice. Which is not available everywhere. Commonly: Lalchal is obtained from local varieties of Ganjia, Malsira and Katia rice. The production of these rices in the mainland is very low. So, one has to go to the pastures to buy this paddy. The people of the grasslands produce these rice with pleasure. These rice have to be collected by burning a lot of wood. In the market, this type of rice is worth 1,200 taka.

Red rice is produced by buying three types of rice and mixing them together. At first he used to collect paddy from Alga, Begumganj and Char Sitajhar of Dwip Union Saheb in Ulipur Upazila of the district. Now he is encouraging the farmers near his house to plant these rice. He is supplying these rice seeds to the farmers and also giving money to encourage them, so now he is getting rice at his fingertips.

Jasmine Nahar Beli, the head teacher of Velakopa New Model Government Primary School, wife of Mosharraf Hossain Farooq, said that at the beginning it seemed like she was going crazy. The machine was repeatedly failing to start. Several shells were falling and breaking but he did not give up. Meanwhile, the cost was increasing. But I didn't stop. Because both need red. So I waited. I feel so good now. Their own machines are producing puffed rice, I can eat it. I can also sell in different places.

I like to spend my free time here. Regarding future plans, the headmaster of Kurigram MA Satta Adarsh High School and entrepreneur Mosharraf Hossain Farooq said that he is interested in working to expand the market of this rice, which is beneficial for controlling diabetics and high blood pressure. He called upon the youth to come forward to create new entrepreneurs. Since there is a huge demand for this red rice among the elite, entrepreneurs will benefit if they can handle the initial cost shock. Also, if you can increase the cultivation of this rice, you will get rice at home. Commercial thinking will reduce the cost a lot.

In this regard, former civil surgeon Dr. SM Aminul Islam said that this turmeric reduces the risk of cancer. If healthy people eat these easily digestible rice, the chances of getting diabetics are reduced. These rice are now available in super shops. If the youth society here is this type of entrepreneur, they can provide self-employment as well as livelihood of some people.

In this regard, Deputy Commissioner Mohammad Saidul Arif said that the initiative is undoubtedly good. If someone comes forward for this kind of work, we can help him with a loan.

In addition to benefiting entrepreneurs, people will avoid eating harmful rice. For this reason, we can provide whatever assistance is needed to reduce the market price.