The home ministry has asked the chiefs of the Border Guard Bangladesh (BGB), Coast Guard and the Police to strengthen patrolling along the border to check fertiliser smuggling from the country.
The ministry issued the directive recently to the Director General (DG) of BGB, DG of Coast Guard and Inspector General of Police (IGP), sources said adding that the move came after industry ministry requested the home ministry to take measures against the smuggling.
Industries secretary Mohammad Moeenuddin Abdullah in a letter to the home ministry said, “The smuggling of urea into the neighbouring countries rises during December-April period when the country’s fertiliser demand increases for peak season of Boro cultivation. That’s why a coordinated effort is needed to stop fertiliser smuggling from the country.”
State minister for home affairs Advocate Shamsul Haque Tuku told The Independent that the ministry has already taken necessary measures to stop smuggling of urea fertilizer.
“Members of the BGB and the Coast Guard are in high alert at different border points to stop smuggling,” he said.
A high official of the home ministry said urea is being smuggled through different points along the south-east and eastern border with the neighbour countries as they face shortage of urea due to absence of fertiliser factories in the areas, especially in Agartala, India and Myanmar.
He informed that the BGB and the Coast Guard had seized a large quantity of urea fertiliser while being smuggled across the border.
Sector Commander of Dinajpur Sector of BGB Col Sarker Mohammad Samsuddin told The Independent that surveillance had been reinforced through 52 border outposts (BOPs) to check smuggling of urea from the country.
However, Chairman of Bangladesh Fertiliser Association (BFA) Kamal Arshad Khan said that he had no information about smuggling of urea fertiliser from the country.
“Prices of urea fertiliser in India are lower compared with Bangladesh. So there is no possibility of smuggling out of the manure from here,” he said.
Secretary of BFA Riaz Uddin Ahmed informed that there was no shortfall of urea in the country.
Currently, there are 5.30 lac tonnes of urea in buffer stock, he said.
A total of 8.50 lakh tonnes of urea fertiliser is produced in the country’s six fertiliser factories against its total demand for 24.50 lakh tonnes per year. The shortfall of16 lakh tonnes is made up from imports.
-With The Independent input
