BCIC dealers protest 'low quality' urea
Dealers of Bangladesh Chemical Industries Corporation (BCIC) of Rangpur district yesterday staged a protest near BCIC fertiliser depot for what they said supply of date-expired and substandard urea.
The BCIC dealers stopped drawing urea allotted for March and declared that they would continue the move till BCIC stops supply of these kinds of urea.
About 80 out of 103 BCIC dealers of the district gathered at the depot and took part in the demonstration.
Director of Bangladesh Fertiliser Association (BFA) and Rangpur BFA unit president Abul Kashem said, BCIC supplied those low quality urea for which maximum product remained unsold in January and February as farmers did not buy them.
He said, “We lodged a complaint with BCIC but to no effect.”
Deputy Commissioner of the district BM Enamul Haque rushed to the fertiliser depot and requested the dealers to stop demonstration assuring them of taking steps.
“We have honoured his request,” said Rangpur unit secretary of BFA Golam Mowla.
Mowla alleged that a section of unscrupulous BCIC officials in collaboration with transport contractors bring substandard and date expired urea from Baghabari.
BCIC dealer of Bederganj upazila Gobinda Kundu said spurious urea in the bags becomes stone hard. Many of the bags of urea were torn as they were kept under open sky for years, he claimed.
Rangpur BCIC fertiliser depot in-charge Golam Mostafa said the dealers were opposing pill urea imported from China.
“They demanded granule urea manufactured by KAFCO in Bangladesh. Therefore the Chinese urea remained unsold and turned hard. But they are not date expired and substandard,” he explained.
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