Farmers beat dealer, assault officials for fertiliser

Angry farmers beat a fertiliser dealer and four officials of Agriculture Extension Department as they did not get fertiliser on Krisnapur Union Parisad premises in Manikganj Sadar upazila yesterday.
The farmers went to the shop of fertiliser dealer Abdul Halim at Rajibpur Bazar for fertiliser. They lined up but the dealer refused to give them fertiliser.
The farmers got angry and started agitating. At one stage, they beseized the shop and beat dealer Abdul Halim and assaulted four AED officials who was also present there.
Injured Abdul Halim was taken to Manikganj Sadar Hospital. Hospital sources said he was give three stretches on the head for the injury.
When contacted, AED Deputy Director Mokbul Hossain Talukdar said there is sufficient fertiliser in the district. The trouble was created there as the farmers created problem in distribution.
He said the AED officials were distributing slip among farmers for smooth distribution but they went to the dealer's shop all at a time, some with slips and some without slips.
Fertiliser-hungry farmers also agitated at Pukuria in Ghior upazila for fertilizer, reports said.
Police were deployed there to stave off violence, the sources said.