Bangladesh News

The Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) resumed sale of essentials including rice at its 100 fair-price outlets in the capital yesterday.

“Rice along with other essentials was sold for Tk 30 per kg yesterday in the city’s 100 outlets which witnessed a small crowd due to people’s nescience about the resumption of sale at the outlets,” Col Mujibul Huq, Dhaka sector commander of BDR, told The Daily Star yesterday.

BDR, which previously ran 65 fair-price outlets in the capital, has added 35 more outlets to its tally ahead of Ramadan.

BDR sources said a total of 210 fair-price outlets are in operation now across the country.

The outlets will remain open from 8:00am to 5:00pm every day except Monday. Each person will be allowed to buy three kgs of rice at a time at the outlets.

Coarse rice, which was sold for Tk 32-33 per kg in the city’s retail markets yesterday, was being sold at Tk 30 per kg at the outlets. Other commodities like pulses, potato, edible oil, powdered milk, salt, onion, garlic, and flour were sold at the outlets at slightly lower prices than in retail markers.

“It is not sensible on my part to walk a distance of over a kilometre to buy rice for Tk 30 a kg from this outlet,” said Aklima Begum, a mid-aged woman, who came to the BDR outlet on Indira road T&T ground.

“I was allowed to buy three kgs of rice which is not enough for my five-member family. It would be very convenient for me if I were allowed to buy at least five kgs of rice at a time,” she said.

Most of the customers at different outlets said it would be better if they could buy rice at Tk 25 per kg at the fair-price outlets.

“Although we have to buy rice in retail markets for Tk 33 a kg, it is still tough for a poor person like me to spend Tk 30 for a kg at the outlets. Since the government wants to help us, it should sell rice for Tk 20-25 a kg at the outlets,” said Kashem Ali, a security guard in the city’s Mohammadpur.

BDR sold about 3,750 kgs of rice by 2:30pm yesterday at its Indira road outlet, said BDR officials.