Row over Distribution of TR Wheat
UP chairmen lock UZ chairman's office
Chairmen of 11 of the 14 union parishads under Shailkupa upazila in Jhenidah district locked the upazila chairman's office yesterday to vent their grievance as the upazila chairman did not sign the official file for distribution of wheat under Test Relief meant for development of rural infrastructure in different unions under the upazila.Photo: STAR
Eleven of the 14 union parishad (UP) chairmen in Shailkupa upazila under the district locked the upazila chairman's office yesterday following a conflict in distribution of wheat under Test Relief (TR) meant for development of rural infrastructure. As upazila Chairman Nayeb Ali Joarder did not sign the official file of TR, the aggrieved UP chairmen locked his office at noon when he was not present there. The chairmen alleged that Nayeb Ali Joarder claimed 3/4 tonnes from the wheat allotted for each union over mobile phone and threatened not to sign the TR file in case of failure. "We failed to make upazila Chairman Nayeb Ali Joarder agree to sign the TR file even after making him aware that we had ensured different sections about the TR. Consequently, we got united and locked his office," said Mostafa Arif Reza Munnu, chairman of 9 No Monoharpur UP. "In last October, TR wheat was allotted for the development of rural areas in the uapzila and a resolution regarding it was passed in a monthly meeting of the upazila parishad on December 27. Later, the relevant file was sent to the upazila chairman's table but instead of signing it, he forwarded it to the office of project implementation officer of the upazila," said Tozammel Haq, chairman of 3 No Dignagar union parishad under Shailkupa upazila. Sabdar Hossain Mollah, chairman of 12 No Umedpur union parishad and president of Shailkupa upazila union parishad chairmen's association, said the upazila chairman's office will remain locked until the TR issue is solved. When contacted, upazila Chairman Nayeb Ali Joarder said, "I am an honest man. People of Shailkupa know about me. I don't take any rice and wheat illegally." Asked why he did not sign the TR file, he said, "All the union parishad chairmen do not implement the TR in village areas. They loot the allotment. So, I could not sign the file." Shailkupa Upazila Nirbahi Officer Azmal Haque said, "Nayeb Ali Joarder was present at the December 27 meeting on TR. He knows very well why he did not sign the file."
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