No takers for rotten, insect-ridden imported wheat in Barisal
Consumers in different parts of Barisal have refused to accept substandard wheat imported from Brazil, claiming it is rotten and infected with insects.
Barisal Metropolitan Police received an ordered from the headquarters to receive only locally produced wheat from the food office. If the Food Department refuses to provide locally-produced wheat, we are ordered to inform it to the HQ.
Not just the consumers, government offices including the Police department, also refused to receive the wheat saying it was rotten and insect-infected. We have asked the Food Department to supply standard quality wheat for distribution as food-ration, said Shoyeb Ahmed, Deputy Commissioner (Headquarter) of Barisal Metropolitan Police.
We are collecting the specimen of wheat from the food godowns in different upazilas and sending it to the concerned ministry as per directions from higher authorities. The process began after complaints were received from dealers and consumers, said Shohidul Alam, the outgoing Deputy Commissioner of Barisal.
Sohrab Hossain and Kaniz Fatema, the upazila nirbahi officers of Wazirpur and Mehendiganj upazilas of Barisal respectively, acknowledged that the samples of wheat received were rotten, thin, smelling and insect-infected. They further said they were collecting samples from upazila food godowns and will be sending them to the district authority. However, Reza Md. Mohshin, District Regional Controller of Barisal Food Department, said that the Dhaka office had informed them that the quality of the wheat being supplied was good. He further claimed that there was no complaint with regard to the quality of wheat.
Amzad Hossain, Regional Controller of the Food Department, Barisal, said the government imported 2 lakh metric tonnes of wheat from Brazil for implementation of TCBs Open Market Sale (OMS) programme during Ramadan and the Test Relief Project. The wheat, he said, was distributed in many areas including Barisal.
He further admitted that about 35,000 tonnes of the imported wheat was supplied in the Barisal division.
According to sources in the Barisal regional food office, a total of 14,998 metric tonnes of small and thin wheat (locally known as Zira-Gaam) is currently lying at different godowns of the Food Department in Barisal division. Of the 14,998 MT, 2,874 MT is lying in Barisal, 963 MT in Jhalakathi, 2,565 MT in Pirojpur, 2,351 MT in Bhola, 2,448 MT in Patuakhali and 3,797 MT in Barguna the district godowns of the division.
Sohel Rana, an OMS dealer of Barisal, said he stopped taking wheat from the Food Department after noticing foul smell and insects in the wheat. OMS dealers and TR recipients had to deal with strong reactions from the consumers over the quality of wheat.
Rashida Begum, a construction worker in Barisal city, said she had to destroy 2 kg of flour collected from the OMS in the area due to its foul smell and substandard quality. Regional Controller of the Food Department at Barisal, Amzad Hossain, acknowledged the complaints and said that the Food Department had sent samples of imported Brazilian wheat to Dhaka for testing last Sunday.
