Over a thousand farmers in Dumuria upazila of Khulna put up a barricade at Chuknagar on Khulna -Satkhira highway from 9:00 am to 11:00 am yesterday in demand for fertiliser and fuel for boro cultivation, reports our staff correspondent in Khulna.

The barricade disrupted traffic movement on the highway for two hours with over 200 passenger buses, private cars and trucks stranded. They lifted the barricade as the UNO assured them of providing fertiliser at fair price today.

The Daily Star staff correspondent in Bogra reported that in Kurigram the authorities have stopped providing fertiliser from the buffer stock for shortage of supply.

Mahbub Alam, who is in-charge of the stock, yesterday told journalists that there were only 91 tonnes of fertiliser at the warehouse with a storage capacity of 2,000 tonnes.

In Lalmonirhat, the warehouse at Mohendranagar having a storage capacity of 12,000 tonnes now has a reserve stock of only 830 tonnes of fertiliser, sources said.

The government has asked 21 dealers of Razibpur and Roumari upazilas in Kurigram to take 928 tonnes of fertiliser and other dealers of the district to take 1,253 tonnes from Mohendranager store as allocation for February. But the dealers of Razibpur and Roumari did not lift the allocated fertiliser on February 22 as transportation cost has increased. As a result, the upazilas are facing acute fertiliser crisis, according to reports.

Most of the fertiliser dealers of the two upazilas have locked their stores as they have no stock to sell. An official of Razibpur upazila administration yesterday admitted the crisis.

Chairman of Dantbhanga union parishad in Roumari AKM Fazlul Haque Mandol and Abdul Kader of Bandaber union parishad in the same upazila said urea was selling at Tk 390- 400 per bag (containing 50 kg) in their areas. But the district fertiliser monitoring committee at a meeting on February 23 decided that each bag of urea would be sold at Tk 290.

Market sources said about 14,450 tonnes of fertiliser were not delivered from Baghabari, Kazirhat and Nagarbari due to high transportation costs. Truck fare in every route has increased by Tk 700- 800 for the rise in petroleum price.

They attributed the fertiliser crisis in some northern districts mainly to increased transportation cost.

Our staff correspondent in Rajshahi reports that 139 fertiliser dealers of Chapainawabganj and Rajshahi yesterday stopped lifting fertiliser from the buffer stock for an indefinite period, protesting what they said is supply of date- expired urea imported from China.

But warehouse in-charge at Rajshahi Siddikur Rahman claimed that the fertiliser was tested to be of good quality.

Deputy Secretary of the establishment ministry SMA Baten, on behalf of the industries ministry, visited Rajshahi warehouse. He heard complaints from the dealers' and resented that the fertiliser stock was not properly stored.

Rajshahi Fertiliser Association General Secretary Rabiul Islam said the BCIC imported the urea through the TCB and most of the fertiliser is full of rubbish, making it unacceptable to farmers. "Every sack is torn and weighed less than it is supposed to. Growers are not purchasing it," he added.

Meanwhile, acting on a tip-off, police recovered 16 bags of urea on Friday from Rasheda Enterprise at Chitalmari Bazar in Bagerhat district.

UNO of Chitalmari Nitish Chandra Sarker told our Khulna staff correspondent that 16 bags of urea were hoarded by the dealer to sell it in black market. Delder Jahangir Alam, who owns Rasheda Enterprise, is now absconding.