Farmers in char areas of Brahmaputra river in Chilmari upazila are spending Tk 83 for a litre diesel to irrigate their boro land instead of the government-fixed rate of Tk 80 enjoyed by mainland farmers. Local dealers do not get a supply of fuel from the floating depots of three state-run marketing companies on the Brahmaputra River, forcing retailers to use horse-drawn carts to carry diesel to the remote areas to deliver them to the farmers. Char farmers have to buy diesel at higher rates from retailers, as the latter has to spend additionally to bring the fuel to the remote areas after buying it from dealers.
There are 6,000 shallow machines in the entire Chilmari upazila. Of them, 70 per cent are operated in char areas. At present, there are three barges on the Brahmaputra in the Chilmari naval port area. One owned by Meghna Petroleum Ltd has a capacity of four lakh litres while the other two owned by Jamuna Petroleum Ltd have a combined capacity of 8 lakh litres. However, the state-run companies have not supplied diesel from the barges for long. Twenty-two listed dealers have not been getting the supply of diesel from the floating depots on the Brahmaputra at the Chilmari naval port in Kurigram for the last three years.
Traders transport diesel to impassable char areas using horse-drawn carts after buying them from dealers in the mainland. As this imposes an additional cost, they have to sell the diesel at a higher rate to farmers. A char farmer is spending Tk 118, including Tk 83 for a litre of diesel and Tk 35 for shallow machine rent, to irrigate one decimal of land during the boro season, up from Tk 90 last year. However, a mainland farmer spends Tk 110, which includes Tk 80 for a litre of diesel and Tk 30 for shallow machine rent for the same purpose, up from Tk 85 last year.
To ensure inclusive development for all, the government should provide alternative and customized development strategies for the Char community.
