8 hurt in police action as farmers block highway for urea in Gournadi
Our Correspondent, Barisal
At least eight people were injured in police action to disperse farmers who blocked the Barisal-Dhaka highways near Mahilara bus stand in Gournadi upazila yesterday demanding adequate supply of fertiliser. The road blockade created long traffic snarl-ups on both sides of the road. Earlier on the day, farmers brought out precessions in Gournadi Bandar and Pinglakati areas in the upazila which ended with out any untoward incident as officials cooled tem down assuring steps to augment supply. As the farmers blocked the highway, police resorted to baton charge at about 9 in the morning, sources said. When contacted later, Upazila Nirbahi Officer Rafikul Islam, Gournadi thana Officer-in-Charge Abbas Uddin, and agricultural officer Debanshu Saha admitted the incidents The trouble ensued after a dealer failed to give farmers the quantities of fertiliser they demanded. The sources said several hundred farmers gathered in front of the shop of dealer Delwar Hussein Tapan in the morning. As the dealer got received only 175 sacks, he gave only 20-25 kilograms of urea per head. This angered the farmers, who demanded 100-150 kilograms each for their IRRI-Boro fields. On February 25, farmers staged demonstrations and blocked the highway for an hour at Barthi bus stand for fertiliser. Agriculture officials said about IRRi-Boro has been cultivated on more than 6,000 hectares of land in the upazila. At least 1,9,52 tonnes of fertiliser is needed for in December-March in in Gournadi upazila. But only 1,155 tonnes have so far ben supplied-- 220 tonnes in December, 465 in January and 450 tonnes in February, the officials said.
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