26,000 litres of hoarded edible oil seized in Sirajganj

During a raid this afternoon, Ullapara upazila administration in Sirajganj seized 26,000 litres of illegally stored edible oil. For hoarding the oil, two traders were fined Tk 1 lakh.

Meanwhile, Department of Protection of Consumer Rights raided Shahzadpur upazila in Sirajganj this afternoon. During the drive, four traders were fined Tk 1,10,000 for hoarding oil.

Md Ujjal Hossain, Ullapara upazila nirbahi officer (UNO), told our Pabna correspondent that a mobile court raided two oil warehouses in the Ullapara municipal area based on a tip-off. Around 26,000 litres of illegally stored oil were seized from the warehouses of Datta & Brothers and Arnab Store during the raid.

The mobile court fined each of them Tk 50,000 and seized the illegally stored oil, said the UNO, adding that the illegally stored oil will be sold in the open market through a committee at the appropriate price.

From morning to noon, Department of Consumer Rights conducted raids in the Dwariapur Market and Dilruba Bus Stand areas of Shahzadpur upazila. At the time, four shops had 3,000 litres of bottled soybean oil that was being sold as open oil for a very high price.

Mahamud Hasan Rony, assistant director of the Directorate of Consumer Protection Rights at Sirajganj, said, "The storekeepers were deceiving buyers; oil purchased at the old price was sold at an exorbitant price. During the operation, hundreds of bottles were seized."

Four companies were fined Tk 1,10,000 by the Department of Protection of Consumer Rights for illegally storing oil, he said.

Mahamud Hasan Rony further said that the Department of Consumer Rights will continue its efforts to ensure that no one defrauds buyers or illegally stores oil in the wake of rising oil prices.