Tensions flared in northern Bangladesh on Wednesday morning when aggrieved farmers breached an authorised agricultural supply depot in Char Rajibpur, Kurigram, taking sacks of fertilizer following allegations of widespread distribution irregularities. The incident took place at Sofi Enterprise, a designated retail outlet located in the bustling Rajibpur market area.
Farmers representing Ward Nos. 2, 3, and 4 had assembled outside the warehouse from the early hours of dawn, anticipating the scheduled delivery of essential nutrients for their fields. Distrust mounted when the official opening time passed without activity at the storefront. It soon transpired that the dealer, Sofi Alam, was issuing allocation dockets directly from his personal residence nearby rather than through the formal facility. As individuals bearing these off-site dockets began claiming fertilizer, long-waiting farmers feared they would be bypassed entirely. The ensuing panic triggered a surge into the warehouse, with multiple growers seizing urea sacks directly from the stock.
Alam claimed that 500 bags of urea were allocated for distribution that day, but the crowd significantly exceeded expectations. He stated that issuing dockets from his home was a measure intended to streamline the crowd, an arrangement he claimed was communicated to local agricultural officials. While admitting that several bags were taken during the commotion, he maintained that some stock was later recovered and attributed the unrest to political instigation.
Conversely, the local administration presented a contrasting account. Sayekul Hasan Khan, the acting Upazila Nirbahi Officer (UNO), denied that a systematic looting took place, stating that law enforcement intervened promptly to restore order before official distribution resumed. Rajibpur Police Station Officer-in-Charge Shahinur Alam corroborated this stance, asserting that physical force prevented significant losses. Unconvinced by official statements, dozens of farmers marched towards the local administration offices by midday, demanding the cancellation of the dealer’s business licence and a formal enquiry into his practices.
This incident is part of a broader pattern of agricultural unrest across Kurigram district during the current cultivation season. Similar supply disruptions and warehouse breaches have occurred in nearby Bhurungamari—where nearly 200 bags were previously seized—as well as in Roumari and Nageshwari upazilas. Despite these localized confrontations, the Department of Agricultural Extension maintains that regional stocks remain robust, supplemented by an additional special allocation of 500 metric tonnes of urea authorized by the Bangladesh Chemical Industries Corporation (BCIC) this September. The central grievance among primary producers appears to stem not from macroscopic shortages, but from arbitrary distribution practices and a lack of transparency at the retail level.
