Paddy seeds seized while being taken to other dist

8 December 2009, 17:00 PM

Our Correspondent, Nilphamari

Authorities seized 1100 kg boro paddy seeds prepared by Bangladesh Agriculture Development Corporation (BADC) while it was being illegally taken from Dimla upazila town to another district on Sunday afternoon. Informed by local farmers, Dimla Upazila Agriculture Officer Aftab Hossain seized 110 bags of boro seeds, each bag weighing 10 kg, from the local bus stand when those were being loaded on the roof of a Dhaka-bound coach. One Rabiul Islam was transporting the seed to Madina Beej Bhandar, a seed trading firm in Gobindaganj upazila of Gaibandha district. The seeds, allotted for the farmers of Dimla upazila, were illegally sold to people in another district at higher prices, the agriculture officer said. As per government instructions, boro seeds allotted for Dimla upazila cannot be shifted to any other place, said Dimla Upazila Nirbahi Officer Mizanur Rahman. Later the seized seeds were taken to the upazila complex premises the same day and sold to 54 farmers at Tk 220 per bag. The accused seed trader, Rabiul Islam was fined Tk 10 thousand. "I am not a licence-holder seed trader. I had bought the seeds from Madina Beej Bhandar at Tk 350 per bag of 10 kg. I was returning the seeds to the same destination as the price of seed is very low in Dimla," he said.