Naogaon Correspondent :
Leaders of Bangladesh Fertilizer Association (BFA) have threatened the movement if the construction site of the buffer warehouse in Naogaon is not changed. They immediately demanded to make Kumuria in place of Khattasahapur Mouza. Rezaul Karim, the president of the organization, made this demand in a written statement at a press conference at the BFA office at Sarishahati in Naogaon at 4.30 pm on Monday. He told a press conference that the annual demand for chemical fertilizer in Naogaon district is about 1.5 lakh metric tonnes.
However, no warehouse has been constructed in the district for storage and distribution. This claim is their long run. However, ignoring the opinion of the locals, Bangladesh Chemical Industries Corporation (BCIC) is trying to build a warehouse in a residential area called Khattasahapur on the land in Kumuria area. The Ministry of Industries has already allocated funds for the acquisition of land there. This has caused extreme anger among the locals. He further said that the authorities have taken wrong decision in determining the place for construction of buffer warehouse in Naogaon district.
This is unacceptable. Khattasahapur is a residential area located at the end of Naogaon district. If warehouses are built there, on the one hand more money will be spent on land acquisition, on the other hand farmers of Naogaon, dealers and people of all walks of life will be deprived of benefits. The government’s intention to build warehouses will not succeed.If Khattasahapur warehouse is constructed as it is a residential area, the conditions for construction of government facilities will be violated. Moreover, Santahar of Bogura district is next to Khattasahapur. BCIC has a buffer warehouse at Santahar. Dealers in Naogaon have to suffer a lot while fetching fertilizer there.
After the supply of fertilizer among the farmers at the right time becomes difficult. If a warehouse is constructed at Khattasahapur, the dealers will have to face extreme harassment and inconvenience in bringing and taking fertilizers, transportation and transportation arrangements.
On the other hand, Kumuria is a convenient place for 11 upazilas of Naogaon district. If warehouses are constructed there, it will be easier to supply fertilizer to every upazila. Almost all the lands of Kumuria are abandoned. There is a large amount of abandoned land. There are also opportunities to acquire more land as needed in the future. It will take about Tk 32 crore to acquire land in Khattasahapur Mouza.
And in Kumuria mouza it is possible to acquire land only if it is Tk. 10 crore. Changing the location will save the government about Tk. 22 crore. Considering all the aspects, in order to facilitate the storage and distribution of fertilizers locally, the construction of warehouses has to be done in Kumuria. So I am demanding to change the place. He also said that Sadhan Chandra Majumder, MP of Naogaon-1 Constituency and food minister, has already given his opinion in favour of constructing a buffer warehouse at Kumuria mouza instead of Khattasahapur mouza. Barrister Nizam Uddin Jalil Jan, MP of Naogaon-5 (Sadar) Constituency, Alhaj Shahiduzzaman Sarkar, MP of Naogaon-2 (Patitla-Dhamairhat) Constituency and Salim Uddin, MP of Naogaon-3 (Mahadevpur-Badalgachhi) Constituency also expressed their views. According to the project period, the construction work is expected to be completed between 2018 and 2021.
But at the beginning of the implementation, there was a mistake at the beginning. Determining the location of the warehouse is an important decision. The opinion of the locals was not taken into consideration while making that decision. This has caused extreme anger in the business community, especially among fertilizer traders. BFA leaders warned that the movement would be announced if the demand for relocation was not met quickly. Former BFA president and Sadar Upazila Parishad Chairman Alhaj Rafiqul Islam and Mizanur Rahman, General Secretary Rezaul Hasan and other leaders of the executive council were present at the press conference.
