Half kilo per sack missing
The government has a food aid programme that allows ultra-poor families to buy 30kg sacks at Tk10 per kilo. Allegations of these 30kg sacks being tampered with whereby people buying them end up with 29.5kg sacks have arisen against a dealer at Loharpur centre of Barisal Sadar upazila recently. It is still too early to comment on the fate of an investigation, if any, into the matter, but it simply points to yet another case of attempted graft. It is unfortunate that even the hard core poor for whom the programme serves a vital role have to pay for goods that are not delivered properly.
We are informed by the monitoring officer of the programme that the matter has been duly relayed to the proper authorities higher up the chain of command. That is good news. It is interesting to note that a food inspector at Barisal Sadar upazila has stated that his office has received no such complaint, but if any irregularity is found action will be taken. Two contradictory statements coming from officials of the same programme is confusing to say the least. And dealers claim that there is no tampering at their end. Whatever may be the case, we would like to know where that half kilo per sack rice is ending up and who is involved. If it is being supplied for sale in the regular wholesale or retail markets, then it is imperative that all the culprits involved in the racket be made to pay for this activity. A failure to take corrective action will of course, doom a very much needed programme to failure which would serve no one, least of all the ultra-poor.
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