Farmers in Ulipur, Kurigram blocked a road with bamboo poles and a fire on Tuesday, alleging that a dealer and two sub-assistant agriculture officers slipped away when they saw the size of the crowd waiting for fertiliser.

Farmers and residents said they had gathered in the morning outside Messrs Sufia Enterprise at Natun Anantapur in Hatia union of the upazila.

Seeing so many farmers at once, block sub-assistant agriculture officers Umar Faruk and Nakul Kumar and dealer Shamsul Alam left without opening the premises, the farmers alleged.

Traffic on the Kurigram-Chilmari regional road was halted for about an hour.

Farmers Abdul Aziz, Azizar Rahman and Abdur Rahim said they had been going back to the dealer for several days without getting any fertiliser.

Two hundred and fifteen sacks were later distributed among roughly five hundred farmers, less than half a sack each.

Missing urea at the peak of the Aman season damages both tillering and yield, a heavy blow for smallholders in the northern districts.

Source: Desh Rupantor