Artificial fertiliser shortage: 669 sacks seized, two traders jailed

DINAJPUR, Aug 27: A total of 669 sacks of fertiliser were seized during separate drives in Dinajpur Sadar and Kaharol upazilas on Wednesday, while two fertiliser traders were sentenced to jail and fined for illegally stockpiling the fertiliser to create an artificial crisis.

In Dinajpur Sadar, 217 sacks of fertiliser were seized from a warehouse at Fuad Industries Rice Mill in the Pulhat BSCIC area around noon. The haul included 170 sacks of urea and 47 sacks of DAP, worth around Tk 2.29 lakh.

Acting on a tip-off, Sadar Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO) Ruhul Amin Sharif conducted the drive when the fertiliser was being loaded onto a tractor from a rice warehouse allegedly for smuggling.

The fertiliser was later placed under the custody of an agriculture official.

Monohor Alam, 56, owner of Sonali Traders and a retail fertiliser trader in Ramsagar area, was sentenced to one and a half months' imprisonment and fined Tk 30,000 under the Fertiliser Management Act, 2006. He will have to serve an additional 15 days in jail if he fails to pay the fine.

Meanwhile, a mobile court raided the warehouse of Orin Traders at Kaharol Bazar and seized 452 sacks of illegally stockpiled fertiliser weighing around 37 tonnes.

Although the business had a valid licence, it had no cash memos or stock register, officials said. The drives were conducted by Assistant Commissioner and Executive Magistrate Abu Sihab Mohammad Imtiaz and Upazila Nirbahi Officer Mokleda Khatun Mim.

The fertiliser seized in Sadar was handed over to the upazila agriculture officer and will be sold to genuine farmers at government-fixed prices.

In Kaharole, the seized fertiliser was sold to farmers holding agricultural cards at government-fixed prices in the presence of the executive magistrate.

Mohammad Nur Nabi, Officer-in-Charge of Dinajpur Kotwali Police Station, and Md Selimur Rahman Selim, OC of Kaharole Police Station, said the convicts had been sent to jail.