Over a hundred sacks of fertiliser were looted and warehouse shutters vandalised after agitated farmers broke into two fertiliser dealers’ warehouses in Rowmari upazila of Kurigram on Monday.
The incidents occurred at around 12pm at the distribution point of M/S Mita-Hasan Enterprise in the Mohila College Para area, and M/S Anupom Traders at Notan Para on Tura Road.
According to local farmers, they had been waiting at the dealer point of M/S Mita-Hasan Enterprise in Ward No 3 of Bandaber Union since dawn to buy fertiliser. As the dealer did not arrive or begin distribution even by 11am, the waiting farmers grew impatient. The agitated crowd then broke the tin fence and shutter of the warehouse, looting over a hundred sacks of fertiliser.
Md Motiar Rahman, the dealer of M/S Mita-Hasan Enterprise, said the distribution was scheduled to start at around 9:30am. “As the situation became tense, we informed the Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) with the help of the administration,” he said. “In the meantime, the impatient farmers took away more than a hundred sacks of urea fertiliser. The exact number of looted sacks will be known once the final count is completed at the end of the day.”
At the other location, M/S Anupom Traders, excited farmers looking for fertiliser broke the shutters on both sides of the warehouse.
Following the chaos, fertiliser distribution was temporarily halted under the pretext that stocks had run out. As the situation deteriorated, the Upazila Nirbahi Officer, the Officer-in-Charge (OC) of Rowmari Police Station, the Upazila Agriculture Officer, and members of Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB) intervened to bring the situation under control. Distribution was subsequently resumed at both dealer points on a serial basis.
Rowmari Upazila Agriculture Officer Md Mahbubul Alam Basunia assured that there is no fertiliser shortage in the upazila. “There will be no issues if the farmers collect their fertiliser patiently. From tomorrow, open-market fertiliser sales will be arranged, leaving no room to spread rumors,” he said.
Rowmari Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) Md Mahbubul Hasan said that he is personally monitoring various dealer points across the upazila, while law enforcement agencies are working to maintain order. He confirmed that some chaos broke out at one of the points, but the situation was quickly brought under control.
