Sylhet Correspondent :
Two ministers, four Members of Parliament and several other government officials launched paddy procurement and handover of harvesting machines in Sunamganj to the farmers forgetting the government’s physical distancing protocol.
The incident took place when Agriculture Minister Dr Abdur Razzaque was inaugurating the procurement and harvesting machines handover programmes in Sunamganj.
Planning Minister MA Mannan was also present at the event, reports Our Sylhet Correspondent.
Dr Abdur Razzaque also warned against any irregularity in procuring paddy from farmers.
“Government will buy paddy directly from farmers. There will be no irregularities, no intermediaries in the procurement. We are making a list of small and marginal farmers and paddy will be bought via lottery. No one can influence the process,” the Agriculture Minister said.”The government disburses Tk 14,000 crore loan to farmers every year. This year, the interest rate has been reduced from nine percent to four, and a total of Tk 19,000 crore will be disbursed to farmers as loan.”
The Minister also promised families of farmers killed by lightning Tk 1 lakh each as financial assistance from the Prime Minister’s Fund.
The government will purchase 25,866 metric tonnes of paddy, 14,687 metric tonnes of steamed rice and 14,309 metric tonnes of sun-dried rice.
During the programme, Planning Minister MA Mannan said the government is currently prioritising agriculture and health sectors.
“There are only two more months left till the upcoming budget and the Prime Minister has decided to spend Tk 22,000 crore in the next two months.”
During the programme, Sunamganj-5 MP Muhibur Rahman Manik, Sunamganj-1 MP Moazzem Hossain Ratan, Sunamganj-4 MP Pir Fazlur Rahman Misbah, reserved women’s seat-21 MP Shamima Akhter Khanam among others were present.
Due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the government declared shutdown to curb the transmission of the virus and Sunamganj district has been under lockdown since April 12.
