Farmers buying diesel at higher prices

Farmers living in remote char areas of Brahmaputra river in Kurigram's Chilmari upazila are buying diesel at Tk 83 instead of Tk 80 a litre. They are buying the fuel essential for running diesel-run shallow pump machines at higher prices as they have to walk around three to five kilometres on sandy char to fetch diesel from the mainland market.

So, they are buying it at higher prices from floating oil depots on the char. Not only the char farmers but also 500-600 boatmen are buying diesel at higher prices.

Around 1200-1500 barrels of diesel are being sold daily in the char areas of Chilmari, said local traders.

Hormuz Ali, a farmer of the remote Char Sholmari area, said he was buying diesel from oil vendors in Char at Tk 83 per litre. If he wants to buy diesel at the fair price of Tk 80, he has to walk about five kilometres on sandy char to reach the mainland market.

Boro paddy season has started so the demand for diesel has also increased, he said.

Sekendar Mandal, another farmer from Shakha Hati area, a remote char on the Brahmaputra bed, it is the destiny of char people that they will buy goods at a high rate and sell their agri-products at a low rate.

They have been living in chars for ages accepting this harsh reality, he said adding, that "The government should take effective steps to provide fertilisers, seeds, pesticides and diesel to the char farmers at a fair price at their doorsteps."

"Now I need 35-40 litres of diesel every day. I am buying diesel from local oil vendors at Tk 83 per litre", he added.

Abu Sayeed, a boatman at Ashtami Char, said he needs around 40-50 litres of diesel every day.

"I am buying diesel at higher prices from the local oil vendors on the char as I have no alternative," he also said.

 All the boatmen like Abu Sayeed are running their boats buying diesel at a higher price, he added.

"Sometimes I buy diesel from the mainland market at a fair price, but most of the times I have to buy diesel from local vendors at a higher price," said Sudhir Chandra Das, a fisherman of Faluar Char.

However, Shahjahan Ali, a diesel vendor on the Brahmaputra bed, claimed that they were selling diesel at Tk 81 each litre but not at Tk 83.

"We have to sell diesel at a higher price due to the additional cost of transporting oil barrels to inaccessible chars from the mainland. The char farmers have no objection to it," he said.