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Effective steps against fertilizer scam imperative |
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Sunday, 23 March 2008 |
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Anti-Corruption Commission has been collecting data and information about corruption in the fertilizer sector and irregularities in appointment of dealers, according to report. The report also says that the ACC will fix a way after receiving the data and information their divisional and district offices. We hope the officials concerned will not take much time in taking necessary actions. Fertilizer crisis has been hitting the farmers of the country very hard. They are running to every possible place for sufficient quantity of quality fertilizer at fair prices. They need it for the cherished quantity of production at their farms. But they don’t get it easily. The crisis hampers agricultural production. The consequence is seriously devastating not only to them but also the national economy. Bangladesh is an agricultural country. A big part of the country’s GDP depends on agricultural production. Life of the rural people mostly depends on it. But they cannot produce sufficient quantity of crops for want of power, seeds, and fertilizers. It causes serious hardship to them. The prices of agricultural items also go abnormally up for the same cause. Fertilizer crisis is nothing new in the country. But the government has so far utterly failed to estimate the need and ensure supply of it. The crisis has so hard hit the farmers at different places took to the street to protest alleged corruption on the part of officials and dealers. We cannot blame them for this. Two times flood and the cyclone Cidr damaged their corps very heavily. Now they require sufficient quantity of fertilizer to make up their loss and saving the country from the current food crisis. We request the government to estimate the total need of fertilizer in the country and produce or import that quantity of it timely. Nobody should also be allowed to create artificial crisis of fertilizer for selfish benefit. Effective steps should immediately be taken against all corrupt officials and dealers.
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