A good number of vigilance teams of the government have realized Tk 13.39 lac in fines by conducting raids in different districts to control the rice price and prevent illegal stocking.
On Thursday while conducting drive in rice shops in 17 districts Tk 10.16 lac fine were realized and on Friday Tk 3.23 lac fine was realized in 11 districts of the country.
A total of 68 companies in 17 districts of the country were fined during the drive. This information has come to light from the report on the campaign conducted against the illegal stockpiling of rice across the country. The Ministry of Food has provided the report.
According to the report, fines of Tk 235,000 have been collected from nine companies in Thakurgaon. Eight companies have been fined Tk 1.12 lakh for storing extra rice and not having licenses.
Besides, two mobile courts in Madaripur of Dhaka division have been fined Tk 20,000, and raids in Chawkbazar, Madhukhali and Saltha in Faridpur yielded fines of Tk 54,000. One company in Bagerhat of Khulna division has been fined Tk 1 lakh.
Three companies in Chattogram’s Bakalia and Bandar areas have been fined Tk 18,000, two in Bandarban Tk 11,000, eight in Khagrachhari Tk 112,000, two in Feni Tk 5,000, two in Laxmipur Tk 6,000 and three in Cumilla Tk 20,000 and four companies in Brahmanbaria were fined Tk 45,000.
According to the report, three rice shops were fined Tk 56,000 during the operation of mobile courts at nine establishments in Bogra’s Subgram and Pirgachha of Rajshahi. A company in Natore has been fined Tk 50,000, three rice mills in Chapainawabganj have been fined Tk 14,000, six retailers in Joypurhat have been fined Tk 55,000 and 12 rice shops in Naogaon have been fined a total of Tk 154,000. In Joypurhat, an organization called Shabbir Traders has been sealed.
In Rangpur division, various traders have been fined Tk 10,000 in Rangpur Sadar. Besides, three companies in Thakurgaon district were fined Tk 150,000 and two companies in Pirganj were fined Tk 35,000.
Following the directive of Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina to control the price of rice in the market and prevent illegal stockpiling, various teams and administrations of the government are conducting operations all over the country including the capital. After Wednesday, the government also conducted operations in different markets of the capital on Thursday and Friday.
Joining a virtual event on Thursday, Food Minister Sadhan Chandra Majumder said, “The campaign against hoarding will intensify.”
