OMS faces setback for dislike of sunned rice
Rice dealers under open market sale (OMS) programme in Moulvibazar Sadar upazila are facing problem as local people, habituated to eating siddha chaul (boiled rice), do not want to purchase atop chaul (sunned rice) supplied for the purpose.
Consequently, the OMS programme, meant for supplying rice at reasonable prices for common people, sees very little success in the area.
Dealers said they have informed the authority of this matter but they are yet to get boiled rice under OMS programme.
The office of the controller of food in Moulvibazar district have appointed 35 dealers, five for each of seven upazilas of the district, to sell rice under OMS programme but the food department has supplied only sunned rice to these dealers.
As common people of the area are not used to eating sunned rice, many prospective customers are returning from OMS centres without buying the rice.
According to OMS programme, a dealer has to sell one tonne of rice every day, but only 100 to 200 kgs of rice are being sold daily.
"There is huge demand of OMS rice but common of the area do not usually eat sunned rice. If the authorities supply boiled rice, dealers can sell more than one tonne of rice every day," said Md Delwar Miah, an OMS rice dealer in Moulvibazar Sadar upazila.
"We have been instructed to draw rice from food department five days in a week during OMS programme, but I have drawn the rice only two days till today," he said on Wednesday.
Several other dealers have similar tales to tell.
Asked about the matter, Md Abdul Wahed, Moulvibazar district controller of food, said, "The people of Baralekha, Kulaura and Juri upazilas are purchasing sunned rice and there is no problem in those upazilas. But people of Sadar, Kamalganj, Srimongal and Rajnagar upazilas are accustomed to eating boiled rice and so, amount of sale of sunned rice under OMS programme in the area is very poor."
"There is sufficient quantity of boiled rice in the stock, but upon assumption that people of Sylhet division generally consume sunned rice, the higher authority had decided to supply sunned rice to the OMS dealers in the region.
"Following complains from the dealers and common people, I have informed the higher authority of the matter. Boiled rice will be supplied after getting order from the higher authority," he said.
A total of 1300 tonnes of rice has been allocated for OMS programme in Moulvibazar district during Ramadan, he added.
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