Kurigram’s Rajarhat Upazila farmers are deprived of government-priced fertiliser for years and forced to buy at much higher rate because union official union dealer has never operated in designated market.
Records list Ashiq Beej Bhandar, owned by Mominul Islam, as the authorised government fertiliser dealer for Chakirpashar union, but he has never sold fertiliser there in more than a decade.
Instead, he has been running his business in a different union, Umarmajid, where he does not hold legal dealership rights.
Local farmers say they were never informed that an official dealer existed in their area and have been buying fertiliser at inflated rates from private retailers.
A field visit to Amtali Bazar of Chakirpashar Union found three private fertiliser shops but no trace of the listed dealer’s outlet. Farmers said they pay Tk5 extra per kilogram compared to the government price and must also spend on transport to neighbouring areas.
Abdul Hamid, a farmer from Amtali, said, “We did not even know there was a government dealer here. We always buy from retail shops at higher prices. We want a dealer in our own market so we can buy fertiliser at fair rates.”
Another farmer, Adhir Roy, said, “This is the first time I am hearing that a dealer point exists in this market. We never saw him selling here.”
Local teacher Atul Chandra Roy said he has been farming in the area for 30 years but has always had to travel to other unions to buy fertiliser.
“There is a clear demand in this market. The agriculture office must take action.”
The dealer point that should have been in Amtali was found several kilometres away in Farokerhat Bazar of Umarmajid union, where dealer Mominul Islam has been selling fertiliser for years.
“I have been doing business here for a long time, and officials know this,” Mominul told TIMES. Asked why he was not operating in the union where he was officially appointed, he said the market was ‘quiet’ when he first obtained the dealership, so he shifted to the nearby union.
When questioned, Rajarhat Upazila Agriculture Officer Saifunnahar Sathi said they had held meetings with all fertiliser dealers and assigned them to unions ‘as per rules’, but did not clarify why one dealer was allowed to operate outside his designated area.
However, Department of Agricultural Extension Kurigram Deputy Director Abdullah Al Mamun said the rules are clear.
“A dealer must sell fertiliser in the union for which the dealership is sanctioned. That is the law,” he said.
Rajarhat Upazila Nirbahi Officer Al Imran said he was unaware of the issue.
“I am learning this from you. I will inform my higher authorities,” he said.
Mominul becomes a fertiliser dealer allegedly by naming his uncle as his father.
Sources say Dulal Mia, owner of Al Raihan Traders and a BNDC fertiliser dealer from Forkerhat, and Mominul Islam, owner of Ashiq Seed Store, are biological brothers. However, when they applied for their dealer licences, they changed their father’s name by forging information on their voter ID cards. They listed their uncle as their father.
Dulal Mia obtained his licence in 2003, mentioning Chumail Uddin as his father. In 2010, his brother mentioned Abdur Salam as his father in the licence documents.
Mominul Islam has openly admitted the falsification, saying he made his uncle his father on paper to secure various benefits, as his uncle was a freedom fighter.
Regarding the matter, Rajarhat Upazila Nirbahi Officer Al Imran said, “If the NID has been forged, it is a serious offence. The matter requires investigation.”
