Khulna, Feb 05 (BDNEWS) - The authorities have filed criminal cases against 17 unscrupulous urea fertilizer dealers for massive irregularities and corruptions in withdrawing and smuggling out fertilizer.
Sources said a section of unscrupulous fertilizer dealers have created an artificial crisis of urea in the district keeping the withdrawn fertilizer in their warehouses triggering untold sufferings of the farmers.
Sources at Bangladesh Chemical Industries Corporation (BCIC) said among 105 fertilizer dealers, several dealers have got the dealership illegally.
It is alleged that the dealers have withdrawn the fertilizer from government storerooms and smuggled out those to India.
Sources said a section of unscrupulous dealers have become wealthy taking the privileges of government's subsidy in fertilizer.
Khulna District Commissioner A T M Mohiuddin and acting Police Super Gazi Jasim Uddin conducted a combined drive and found that there are records that 17 dealers have withdrawn fertilizer from the government store. But on a spot visit they did not find a single bag of fertilizer in their warehouses.
Later, criminal cases were filed against the 17 unscrupulous dealers in a meeting of the District Seed and Fertilizer Monitoring Committee and strict orders were given for their arrest to be monitored by the deputy director of Khulna Agriculture Extension Department (EAD).
BDNEWS/0942 hrs
