The food ministry has carried out drives against paddy and rice hoarding in Dhaka and across the country. More than 100 businesses were fined a total of Tk 8 lakh 93 thousand 150 for illegally stockpiling paddy and rice.

The information came from food ministry sources on Tuesday (23 January).

The food ministry said drives were carried out at wholesale depots, shops, markets and rice mills in Tangail district of Dhaka division. Two shops and five rice mills were fined Tk 39,000 for illegal stocks of rice and paddy and for trading without licences. A rice shop in Kishoreganj was fined Tk 2,000.

In Kushtia district of Khulna division, several offices ran a joint drive, and three rice mills were fined Tk 75,000 for holding excess paddy and rice. In Magura, two businesses were fined Tk 60,000 for illegal stocks.

At the same time, in a joint anti-hoarding drive by the Chuadanga district food department, the Directorate of National Consumer Rights Protection and the Department of Agricultural Marketing, fines of Tk 40,000 were imposed on three traders for selling goods in plastic sacks and two traders for selling expired products. In Jashore district, 28 businesses in Sadar, Keshabpur and Navaran upazilas were inspected, and fines of Tk 16,000 were imposed for various irregularities.

In Chattogram division, five wholesale and retail traders in Laksam upazila of Cumilla were fined Tk 24,150 for not having licences. In Ashuganj upazila of Brahmanbaria, a joint drive by the food department, upazila administration and police fined two mills Tk 20,000 for using plastic sacks. In Cox's Bazar Sadar upazila, two wholesale shops were fined Tk 7,000 for not having food grain licences.

Eight drives were conducted in Sylhet Sadar, and fines of Tk 40,000 were imposed for trading without licences, not displaying price lists and selling rice at higher prices.

Among the divisions, Rajshahi faced the highest fines. In Rajshahi district Sadar, nine businesses were inspected and fined or warned for various irregularities. One business was fined Tk 3,000 for not having a licence and one shop Tk 10,000 for an illegal paddy stock.

In Naogaon, the division's top rice-producing district, seven depots and markets and six rice mills were inspected. Seven businesses were fined Tk 3 lakh 90 thousand for illegal paddy stocks.

Drives were also carried out in various upazilas of Natore, where M/s Al-Amin Auto Chalkal and M/s Kishore Kumar Auto Rice Mill were fined a total of Tk 10,000 for using plastic sacks. In Chapainawabganj district, a rice mill was inspected, fined Tk 10,000 and ordered to market its stored paddy within 30 days.

Anti-hoarding drives were also run in six upazilas of Sirajganj district, where one business was fined Tk 10,000 for not having a food grain licence.

In Bogura, another district of the division, 27 rice mills and two markets were inspected. Two mill owners were fined Tk 10,000 for not having food grain licences and price lists. Drives were also carried out in Jaypurhat and Pabna districts of the division, where no illegal stocks were found and no fines imposed.

In Dinajpur district of Rangpur, drives were carried out at 11 automatic rice mills and 26 wholesale depots. One aratdar was fined Tk 10,000 for trading without a licence.

In Mymensingh division, drives were carried out in various upazilas of Netrokona district. For various irregularities, 12 businesses in Sadar upazila were fined Tk 3,000, one in Mohanganj upazila Tk 7,000, one in Durgapur upazila Tk 7,500 and one in Atpara upazila Tk 5,000.

Source: Jagonews24. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.