Complaints have emerged regarding corruption and irregularities in Open Market Sale (OMS) rice distribution program at Raipura upazila in Narsingdi district.
Locals allege that dealer Dulal, who is responsible for distributing the rice, is routinely denying it to eligible cardholders by giving various excuses.
As a result, many impoverished residents are returning home empty-handed despite standing in queues for hours.
The issue gained public attention when a local resident, Fayaz Uddin, made a Facebook post on Saturday, stating, "Irregularities are ongoing at Machherchar OMS center under Chanpur union. Full details coming with video evidence."
The post quickly went viral, leading to increased public interest and media scrutiny.
Following the viral post, on Sunday, local Union Parishad Member of ward no. 3 of the union, Abdullah Al Mamun, submitted a written complaint to Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO), demanding action against the irregularities and alleged misappropriation of rice meant for the poor.
A team of journalists then visited Machherchar village to verify the claims.
Victims came forward and shared their experiences. One resident, Jiasmin Begum, said, "Until last year, I used to get rice. But last month I heard it was available again, so I went from Machherchar to Kalikapur, only to be told that there were problems with my name or ID card. Despite multiple requests, they refused to give me rice."
Another woman, Karima, stated, "We used to receive rice when the previous dealer Nasir was in charge. Now with the new dealer, we don’t get anything. They keep making excuses."
About 10 to 15 women from the same village echoed similar complaints, all saying they were denied rice despite being valid cardholders.
Fayaz Uddin, the individual who originally posted about the incident on Facebook and a district human rights secretary of swecchasebok dal, said, "When I returned to the area yesterday, many poor women approached me in tears, saying they stood all day but were still denied rice. Despite OMS center being at Machherchar, they were told to go to Kalikapur. Later, without informing us, the distribution took place at Kalikapur and many eligible people were turned away. We strongly protest this injustice and demand an investigation and appropriate action against the dealer."
Chanpur union BNP Senior Vice-President Shafiuddin added, "Traveling from Machherchar to Kalikapur costs around 100 taka, which is a significant burden for people who are already struggling and rely on Tk 15 per-kg rice. Asking them to spend extra money and still denying them rice is deeply unfair."
Confirming the allegations, ward no. 3 UP member Abdullah Al Mamun said, "Over the past 15 days, I’ve received multiple complaints about the current OMS dealer. Even cardholders were not given rice. I spoke several times with the dealer and his associate."
"They promised to distribute rice at designated Machherchar center but went ahead and distributed it at Kalikapur instead. The key question is; where did the rice go that was meant for those cardholders? Was it returned to the government stockpile? From what I know, it was not. I urge the administration to investigate this thoroughly", he added.
Repeated attempts to contact dealer Dulal by phone went unanswered.
When contacted, Shahnewaz, the designated tag officer for the dealer, admitted that the dealer failed to inform him about the distribution initially.
He said, "I went there after I heard they started distributing rice. They allowed me to supervise a few distributions, then I left. This time again, they didn’t inform me. I can’t say how much rice came or how much was given out."
He could not provide clear answers about his responsibilities and eventually ended the call.
Food Control Officer Shikha Akter, who was reached via phone due to being unwell, also said she was unaware of any such irregularities or changes in distribution location.
In response to the allegations, Upazila Nirbahi Officer Md Masud Rana stated, "An investigation will be conducted. If the allegations are found to be true, the dealer’s license will be revoked."
TA/SH
