Relief rice stolen amid COVID-19 crisis
Even amid the ongoing pandemic, rice allocated as relief for the poor is being stolen and sold in the black market.
Despite stern warnings from the government, from Saturday night till Sunday morning, 25,800 kg (26 tonnes) of rice was recovered by the law enforcement agencies.
A total of 18 persons were detained in this regard, two of them Awami League leaders.
From Wednesday to Sunday, the law enforcement agencies recovered 121,257 kg (over 121 tonnes) of rice. This included rice being sold at Tk 10 for the poor as well as rice under the food-friendly programme.
The local government division on Sunday suspended the Mirzapur No. 3 union parishad chairman Nurul Afsar in Hathhazari, Chattogram, Sukash union ward 6 member Shaheen Shah of Shingair, Natore and Pirojpur union ward 8 member Md Kabir Hossain of Sonargaon, Narayanganj, for irregularities in relief distribution and rice sales.
They have been asked to show cause within 10 days as to why they will not be removed from office.
Food ministry additional secretary Tahmidul Islam, speaking to Prothom Alo, said they have asked the director general of the food directorate for the list of persons who have pilfered rice allocated as relief for the poor. They will take action as soon as they receive the list.
According to sources in the food ministry and the disaster management and relief ministry, the government had already been providing rice at Tk 10 per kg to the poor, under the ‘food friendly programme’.
This food was basically sold at a union level through dealers to enlisted families with the required cards. The rice was provided, 30 kg per family, in March, April, September, October and November.
Rice had also been sold at Tk 30 per kg under the government OMS (Open Market Sales) programme, but later due to the coronavirus outbreak, the price was reduced to Tk 10 per kg.
A total of 54,000 tonnes were allocated under this programme. The OMS programme is mostly run in areas with a higher labour population, such as cities, divisional towns, district headquarters and municipal areas. Rice will continue to be sold at Tk 10 per kg through OMS during the coronavirus crisis. OMS is run Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday.
Bogura
The Rapid Action Battalion (RAB) on Saturday detained two Awami League leaders in Nandigram, Bogura, for hoarding 168 sacks (6,200 kg) of rice through the black market, from the government’s food-friendly programme. The two AL leaders were Nandigram upazila AL general secretary Anisur Rahman and Nandigram sadar union ward 8 AL president Ansar Ali.
RAB Bogura camp commander Raushan Ali, speaking to Prothom Alo, said that on paper it had been shown that the rice was distributed, but it was actually hoarded. Charges will be filed against the two detained persons.
Meanwhile, the Bogura district general secretary Ragebul Ahsan told Prothom Alo that three local leaders of the party, including the Nandigram upazila general secretary, had been removed from their posts for hoarding rice and tarnishing the image of the party.
Joypurhat
Police arrested two rice traders from Khetlal upazila, Joypurhat. They had hoarded 1250 kg of rice. They were sent to jail.
Madaripur
Police recovered 1,080 kg of rice of the food-friendly programme in Kalkini and Rajoir upazila of Madaripur. Nabagram union parishad ward 5 member Uttam Kumar Biswas was arrested in this connection.
Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) executive director Iftekharuzzaman told Prothom Alo that misappropriating poor people’s rice in this crisis was most unfortunate. He said that action is not taken in many cases as often influential quarters are involved.
Nabagram UP chairman Bibhuitbhushan Baroi told Prothom Alo that the arrested man was involved with AL, but did not hold any post.
More stolen rice was recovered in other areas of the district.
Feni
On Saturday, 6 sacks of rice (280 kg) were recovered from Amjadhat union in Fulgazi, Feni and one arrest was made. Rice dealer and local Jubo League leader Abdul Awal went into hiding after the incident.
Other districts
In Chapainawabganj, 300 sacks of rice (15,000 kg) were recovered and 2 arrested. In Brahmanbaria, 900 kg of rice was recovered and 5 detained. In Bhola, 7 sacks of rice (300 kg) were recovered. The Lalmohan UP member, involved in the pilferage, is in hiding.
In Khagrachhari, local people caught a man who had hoarded 28 sacks of rice to sell in the black market. A rice dealer also involved in the scam, went into hiding.
TIB
Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) executive director Iftekharuzzaman told Prothom Alo that misappropriating poor people’s rice in this crisis was most unfortunate. He said that action is not taken in many cases as often influential quarters are involved. The prime minister has made it clear what is to be done in such cases. And so anyone involved in such misappropriation and irregularities must face the law.
[Prothom Alo staff correspondent and correspondents of the respective areas provided information for this report.]