Enraged at their positions remaining static, despite a decision taken in this direction 12 years ago, as many as 623 upazila food controllers and equivalent food officials throughout the country are now preparing for action including wildcat strike to realise their demand.

The Food Directorate now apprehends that any strike move by upazila level food officials would only further jeopardise the management of the public food delivery, particularly during this current spate of the rise in market prices for essentials.

Threatening a strike, Upazila Food Controllers' Association President Md Fazlul Haq Khan, told The Daily Star that back in 1992 the food ministry proposed promotion of the upazila level food controllers from second class to first class officers. This proposal subsequently got the establishment ministry's nod and was placed for approval of finance ministry.

"Over the years this promotion process passed through many bureaucratic tangles and now when a government committee seeks information explaining the rationale for such promotion from the food ministry, the ministry is delaying in supplying the committee with all the relevant information," complained Khan.

During administrative reforms under the Ershad regime, all posts of sub divisional food controllers of the rank of the first class officer were abolished in 1983 and new positions were created as upazila food controllers giving them the rank of second class. But after years of movement, Prime Minister Khaleda Zia's earlier government took up the issue seriously and made the necessary move for upgrading the positions in 1992.

In the next few years a host of interministerial meetings saw the formation of several high-level committees on this issue yet things did not go the food officials' way.

When contacted, food ministry sources acknowledged receiving queries from the establishment ministry on promotion of upazila food controllers last June but did not supply the latter with the necessary information as yet.

Against this backdrop, the grassroots level food officials recently held a meeting with both the current Food Minister, Chowdhury Kamal Ibne Yusuf, and the last Food Minister, Abdullah Al Noman.

Food officials now said that despite the assurance and recommendation of an Establishment Ministry, an additional secretary-headed committee, their demand was not being met due to a bureaucratic bottleneck and sluggishness.

They said they were planning to strike immediately unless their demand is met without further delay.