25 injured as farmers clash with cops over fertiliser

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At least 25 people including police were injured when the law enforcers clashed with farmers who put up barricades on the Dhaka-Bogra Highway in Raiganj upazila of the district for hours yesterday demanding fertiliser.

Following the prolonged barricade and the clash, hundreds of vehicles got stranded on both sides of the spot on the highway, causing untold sufferings to the passengers.

Local sources said some 2,000 farmers from several neighbouring villages of the upazila went to the local fertiliser dealer Mozibor Rahman alias Meherchand’s store at Shahebganj bazar in the morning, but the dealer failed to supply them with the required quantity, sparking off anger.

The angry farmers then brought out a protest procession and blockaded the highway near Shahebganj bazar at around 11:00am demanding fertiliser.

Informed, Solonga police rushed to the spot two hours later. The law enforcers started charging batons on the agitating farmers indiscriminately to disperse them resulting in a violent clash between both sides, the demonstrators alleged.

At least six vehicles were damaged and two shops were ransacked at this time.

The injured were admitted to Raiganj and Ullapara health complexes and different clinics.

At around 1:00pm, Raiganj Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) Halimuzzaman Halim and Upazila Agriculture Officer visited the spot and brought the situation under control after assuring the agitating farmers of adequate supply of fertiliser.

Talking to The Daily Star, several farmers alleged that some unscrupulous dealers and traders had increased the price of fertiliser and selling them on the black-market adding that a 50 kg bag of urea is being sold at Tk 400 to Tk 450 against the government rate of Tk 295. As a result, the farmers could not get required fertiliser, which is causing them loss. The target of Irri-Boro cultivation may not be achieved due to this problem during the peak hours of cultivation season, they feared.

Some dealers seeking anonymity cited short supply and faulty system of distribution by the government as reasons behind this problem.

They also suggested open market selling so that the farmers can get their required quantity of fertiliser instead of the present system of an amount fixed by the authorities per person irrespective of their cultivable land.

Hazi Tamser Ali, 60, of Dadpur village in Raiganj upazila told The Daily Star that he got only one bag of urea fertiliser from local dealer against his demand of 20 bags for his around 10 acres of land.

Hasibur Rahman, deputy director of Sirajganj Agriculture Extension Department, said that a total of 1,26,760 hectares of land have been brought under the Irri-Boro cultivation this year which requires about 2,70,00 metric tons of fertiliser immediately

Contacted, Sirajganj deputy commissioner Ibrahim Khalil said that they have adequate stock of fertiliser, which are being distributed to the farmers by 256 appointed dealers. A monitoring team led by Magistrate Mahbub is also overseeing the distribution, he added.

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