Archive for March 2008
Commercial cultivation of strawberry promises hefty gains for farmers
Quamruzzaman’s (inset) strawberry field at Harishpur in Natore left,and Dr. Manjur Hossain with plucked fruits in Rajshahi city. Photo: STARRajshahi University Botany teacher Dr Manjur Hossain evolved a variety of strawberry suitable for cultivation in Bangladesh’s climate. Horticulturist Quamruzzaman of Natore commercially cultivated the variety on 1.5 bighas of land this year.
The red juicy and nutritious fruit produced by them was supplied to posh markets in Dhaka recently.
With farmer-level price of around Tk 300 per kg, the commercially viable fruit has great export potential and will benefit farmers enormously, the pioneers said while talking to this correspondent at their fields recently.
It can be harvested within two and a half months of plantation and a farmer can earn around Tk 6 lakh from one bigha of land by spending only Tk 20,000, they said.
Besides being taken as a fruit, it is used in preparing ice-cream, jam, jelly, pickle, chocolate, biscuit, cake or milk shake.
Dr Manjur did his PhD in Japan. While returning home, he brought saplings of eight varieties of strawberry in 1996.
Quamruzaaman collected six varieties from Japan and America but none of the varieties sustained in Bangladesh climate.
Manjur evolved some new varieties through tissue culture at the Plant Breeding and Gene Engineering Laboratory at his Botany department. Manjur started filed experiments at Bhadra in Rajshahi city and Quamruzzaman at his Modern Horticulture Center at Harishpur in Natore.
In 2003, three varieties yielded encouraging results and were found suitable in local climate. Out of the three, RU-3 and Modern-3 varieties were found very impressive in size, taste and flavour.
“We found the best results this year in hilly areas at Matiranga Army Zone where 26 Cavalry Division produced quality strawberries from 200 saplings”, said Dr Manjur.
Strawberry cultivation is as easy as growing potatoes or brinjals. Saplings can be sown in rows in November and December. The plant starts flowering within one month of plantation and fruits can be collected till March.
Saplings can be collected from nurseries of Dr Manjur and Quamruzzaman in Natore.
Each plant bears around 250 to 300 grams of fruits and some 6000 plants can be grown on one bigha of land, they said.
Now, traders import strawberry from Thailand and Australia at Tk 900 to Tk 1200 per kg. Strawberry flavour is also imported.
A farmer can get 2000 kg fruit from one bigha of land by spending Tk 20,000.
Growers to face Tk 300 crore loss from potato damage
Sacks of potato are piled up on the premises of Rahman Cold Storage at Nawhata Madhusudhanpur in Paba upazila while the authorities have hung a notice announcing closure of receiving potato. Photo: STARThe situation has arisen as growers have failed to preserve it in cold storages due to lack of accommodation.
A prolonged winter this year helped yield around 58 lakh tonnes of potatoes from over 3.50 lakh hectares of land in northern districts and a total of 130 cold storages in the region could accommodate only 10 lakh tonnes.
Of the remaining 48 lakh tonnes, about two-thirds 32 lakh tonnes are expected to be sold in local markets and other parts of country while the remaining amount will have to be stored in growers’ households, said agriculturists and businessmen.
Apart from space constraint, growers are being forced to adopt the indigenous methods of preserving to avoid losses due to the vegetable’s low price in the present market.
The influence of middlemen, hoarders and seasonal businessmen in markets of abundant supply has pushed the price down. In Rajshahi, potato is now being sold at Tk 800 per sack (84-kg), which was Tk 980 even five days back. The price is still lower at Joypurhat, Tk 750 per sack.
The hoarders blocked most spaces of cold storages through advance bookings at as high rate as Tk 130 per sack whereas the regular booking rate is Tk 60 to 90, alleged growers.
Due to the advance bookings, many cold storage owners have already hung notices announcing stoppage of receiving potatoes even before filling up the capacity, sources said. As a result, growers are compelled either to sell produces at lower rates or take back home to store indigenously.
The Agriculture Extension Directorate (AED) is circulating leaflets suggesting farmers traditional potato storage on floors, machan (straw-made platform), and beneath cots.
AED officials, however, do not know have any clear idea about how much damage to potato can be done if the winter vegetable is stored in such a way.
“We do not have any idea about it [damage caused by using traditional methods] as no survey was made. Yet the possible damage is evident,” M Abdul Matin, additional director of Rajshahi regional AED told The Daily Star. “We are suggesting traditional methods as there is no other way,” he said.
This correspondent met Abdur Razzak, a grower of Bargachhi in front of Raj Cold Storage in Paba upazila. He produced 720 sacks of potatoes from 24 bighas of land spending about Tk 7 lakh. “Although it is not enough to recover the production cost, I sold 200 sacks to hoarders for Tk 900 at per. I am in a problem now with the rest”.
Kalam got 810 sacks of potato from his nine acres of land. “I must preserve those anyhow. By selling it five months later, I can cultivate next crops.”
Experience of Intaj Ali of Madhabpur is bitter. “I have already sustained loss. I don’t know what is waiting for me next.”
Amjad of Bagmara, Shahidul of Durgapur and Shahidul of Naogaon have similar stories.
Mizanur Rahman Sentu, a trained farmer, however, seemed satisfied. He produced 607 sacks of potatoes from 23.5 bighas of land in Durgapur, Amgachhi and Kathalbaria villages spending Tk 4.70 lakh and managed to store all the produce.
Bumper potato output puts Rajshahi growers in peril
Potato sacks are stockpiled on the premises of Rahman Cold Storage at Nawhata in Rajshahi as authorities put up a sign saying they have stopped receiving potatoes for storage. |
Potato growers in 16 districts of Rajshahi division are in great trouble due to lack of storage facility following a bumper production of the crop.
The farmers have harvested around 58 lakh metric tones of potato in the region but there have been only 130 cold storage, which can preserve only 10 lakh tonnes, agriculture department sources said. Of the remaining 48 lakh tones, some 32 lakh tonnes will be sold in local markets, the sources said. And the rest of 16 lakh tonnes will be preserved traditionally at houses due to lack of storage facility. But agricultural department officials fear some 20 percent of the 16 lakh tones of potatoes will be damaged. A prolonged winter this year was behind bumper yield of potatoes from over 3.50 lakh hectares of land in north Bengal. The bumper production has also pushed the prices down by Tk 180 per 84-kg sack. Potato is now being sold at Tk 800 per sack against Tk 980 even five days back. The price was Tk 750 at Joypurhat. The hoarders and middlemen have already blocked spaces of cold storage through advance bookings at as high as Tk 130 per sack against the normal rate of Tk 60 to Tk 90, alleged growers. Cold storage owners are not taking new booking now, compelling growers either to sell potatoes at throwaway prices or store indigenously. The Directorate of Agriculture Extension (DAE) is circulating leaflets advising farmers to store potatoes at traditional ways on floors. But this method will lead to destruction of a huge amount of the crop, farmers feared “We don’t have any idea of such crop will be damaged”, said M Abdul Matin, additional director of Rajshahi regional DAE. “We are advocating for traditional method since there is no alternative,” he added. In front of Raj Cold Store in Paba upazila in Rajshahai, Abdur Razzak, a grower, said he middle are taking advantage of the situation. Kalam, another farmer, said got 810 sacks by cultivating 9 acres of land. “I must preserve those any how. But I don’t know how.” |
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Editorial: Dealing with swindler NGOs
Not long ago, reports of the swindle committed by a so-called non-government organisation, Freedom Unnayan Sangstha, pointed to the nefarious role that such bodies were engaged in. That should have been reason enough for the authorities to go for concrete and tough action against the individuals and groups engaged in such shady business. That did not happen. What happened was even worse. Earlier this month, the Natore district administration permitted the establishment of some new NGOs, ignoring public opinion about the need to apprehend those who had earlier hoodwinked people by simply disappearing with their money. The height of irony is that since this new decision came into force, two other organisations, also calling themselves NGOs, vanished after pocketing a total of Taka 170 crore. Our credulity is stretched to the limits when we are informed that despite two probes conducted last year, revealing anomalies in the working of some NGOs, the authorities adopted a laid-back attitude where prosecution of the corrupt elements associated with these bodies is concerned.
A few delinquent NGOs cause scratches on the overall image of NGOs. The need now is therefore straight and simple. The Natore administration must not only explain its failure to do its job but also ensure that from here on all past lapses will be set aright. At the same time, it should be the responsibility of NGO coordinating bodies (and one may here mention such organisations as the Association of Development Agencies of Bangladesh) to have their own supervisory or investigative mechanism in place. They could prevent fake NGOs from damaging the reputation of the genuine ones.
NGO Swindling: Tk 22 lakh seized from house in Natore
Meanwhile, NGO victims in Natore demanded arrest of the deputy commissioner and social welfare officials for “helping” the frauds in exchange of bribes.
Acting on a tip off, a Rab team raided the house of Aroz Mollah, 55, father-in-law of Joynal Sheikh, director of Probhati Grameen Unnayan Sangstha, and found Tk 14.5 lakh in a trunk.
Following Aroz’s confession, the elite force dug out a polythene-sack full of money and gold ornaments worth Tk 70,000 at his cowshed, said Rab sources.
Probhati officials in recent NGO scam in Natore disappeared with around Tk 100 crore from 2.5 lakh members.
Several hundred NGO victims under the banner ‘Protarok NGO Birodhi Sangram Committee’ staged a demonstration at Natore Bar Bhaban auditorium yesterday demanding arrest of Natore Deputy Commissioner SM Ehsan Kabir in seven days.
They said in a news conference the DC and other government officials including the Sadar upazila nirbahi officer and some policemen patronised the fraud NGOs in exchange of huge bribes.
The victims also demanded arrest of the five suspended Social Welfare Office staffs in addition to the fraud NGO officials.
The agitators announced a seven-day ultimatum to meet their six-point demand and threatened to go on tougher movement including laying a seize, strike and hartal programmes.
Their other demands include a judicial probe into the entire NGO scam, compensation to the ignorant victims, and seizure of wealth and property of the fugitive NGO men to distribute among the cheated.
They also demanded one-year postponement of interest collection by different other NGOs from where they took loan to invest with the fraud NGOs.
Swindler NGOs: Lax admin control, irregularities led to crisis
Based in Natore, the NGOs stretched business web in the name of voluntary organisations for the poor quite openly over Rajshahi, Naogaon, Bogra, Pabna, Joypurhat, Kustia and Dinajpur since March last year.
Even after leading swindler Freedom Unnayan Sangstha (FUS) disappeared with Tk 250 crore, the Natore district administration gave other NGOs green light at a meeting on March 3, ignoring general participants’ opinions for arresting some officials.
Following that meeting, two more NGOs having 3.5 lakh members — Probhati Grameen Unnayan Sangstha, with around Tk 100 crore, and Palli Jagoroni Unnayan Sangstha with Tk 70 crore — vanished.
Two separate probes into NGO activities revealed a number of anomalies last year, but the district administration mysteriously delayed taking action against these NGOs.
The investigation report by Natore Sadar UNO Mahbub Shahin exposed seven irregularities including money collection without receipt, not depositing collection to banks, and not getting approved monthly income and expenditure.
Another report by Abdullah Al Mujahid, a Transparency International Bangladesh (TIB) official, mentioned 10 discrepancies. Intriguingly, the report had even alerted that the NGOs might get away ruining the ignorant investors.
The NGOs were enrolling members taking Tk 6,400 per person against an offer of weekly dividend of Tk 570 until the total stands at Tk 29,640 in 52 weeks, 4.6 times higher than investment.
Each member was given conditions of bringing two more members for getting the dividend.
The victims said besides the attractive offer, police escort for the NGO men and law enforcers’ frequent visits to their offices gave them confidence to invest.
Contacted, Natore Deputy Commissioner SM Ehsan Kabir pinned the blame on the police and social welfare office.
“It’s them who had kept mum (about the NGOs). We had sent them copies of the probe reports… We later informed higher authorities and the home ministry.
“The decision (of allowing other NGOs on March 3) was taken unanimously only after the NGO men promised they would not escape, while local UP chairmen took their responsibility and police assured of watching them,” the DC said.
Natore Superintendent of Police (SP) Shah Golam Mahmud refuted the allegations saying, “The police had no complaints to chase the NGOs.”
Social Welfare Directorate (SWD) in a departmental probe found irregularities and on Monday suspended five officials of Natore office — deputy directors Mir Bux and Azimussan, registration officers Ismail Hossain and Anisur Rahman, and clerk Abdul Mannan.
Filing departmental cases against these officials is underway, said SWD Director General Dr Kamal Abdul Naser Chowdhury.
Due to registration flaws, many ‘unskilled’ people like Ishaq Mia, a class-five pass former night guard at a Dhaka garment factory, became key persons of the NGOs.
On the other hand, many NGOs were operated by changing names, head offices and beyond registered territory.
The victims demanded a judicial as no investigation into the whole scam has yet to take place.
Rajshahi poultry farm owner, family safe from bird flu danger
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Rajshahi poultry farm owner, family safe from bird flu danger
The poultry farm owner and his wife and son, who were quarantined on suspicion of avian influenza infection, were released from Rajshahi Medical College Hospital (RMCH) yesterday after pathological tests in the capital produced negative results.
The tests of throat and nasal swabs of Ashraf Hossain, 42, and his wife and 14-year-old son were carried out at the virology departments of Institute of Epidemiology, Disease Control and Research (IEDCR) and the ICDDR,B. “We recommended releasing the three after extensive tests. We first performed a rapid test for influenza at the virology department of IEDCR and the results were negative for all three,” said Prof Mahmudur Rahman, director of IEDCR. “Usually, we do not proceed for further tests after the rapid test. But since it was the first case in the country where the patient was from an infected farm, we gave it a top priority,” he said. The specimens were then sent to the virology department of ICDDR,B for real-time polymerase chain reaction (RT-PCR) test and the results were negative for H5 virus too. Ashraf Hossain, a poultry farmer of Terokhadia Paschimpara in the city, had been taken to RMCH on March 5 and quarantined the next day on suspicion of being infected with the avian influenza H5N1 virus. The surveillance physician of the RMCH influenza surveillance informed the IEDCR of the matter. On February 20, some 100 chickens of his farm died and he buried those without taking any protective measures. Two days later, the district livestock department confirmed the presence of bird flu virus at the farm and culled 600 chickens. |
<!– One of several CNG filling stations between Kanchpur Bridge and Jatrabari of the capital which BNP big shots built on the Kutubkhali canal, drastically reducing Dhaka’s drainage capability. PHOTO: STAR –> |
Ashraf Hossain, 32, of Terokhadia Pashchimpara in Rajshahi was admitted to the hospital on Wednesday as he showed multiple symptoms of the disease. His blood sample was sent to Dhaka for test.
“If his case is confirmed, he will be the first person in the country to have been infected with bird flu”, said Dr Abdul Alim, who is treating the patient.
Dr M Sajedul Islam, civil surgeon of Rajshahi, said, “It would take only seven days for him to be cured if it is established that he’s caught the avian influenza virus”, he said.
Nearly 500 bird-flu infected chickens were culled at Ashraf’s farm on February 23.
NGO victims seek justice
Probe finds anomalies in NGO registration
Meanwhile, the tendency of disappearing with public money spreads elsewhere, as another NGO vanished, this time in Sylhet, with Tk 50 lakh from over 500 depositors, report UNB.
Sources said, Social Welfare Deputy Director Mir Bux has been transferred to Bhola and registration officer Ismail Hossain to Bandarban, reports our Roving Correspondent from Natore.
The steps were taken after the three-member SWD team from Dhaka probed discrepancies in Natore office in the last three days.
Headed by SWD Additional Director Sailendranath Paik, the team also comprises Deputy Director (HQ) Badiuzzaman and Assistant Director Nasir Uddin.
“Now they [two officials] are transferred, but punitive action might be taken against them and some others who are now working in other districts once the probe completes,” said one of the team.
Meanwhile, an impending threat on law and order is being widely apprehended in Naldanga and neighbouring upazilas as victims attacked and torched two more houses yesterday.
A mob swooped on the house of Wabaidul Haque at Sonapatil looking for his relative Sentu, a staff of Freedom Unnayan Sangstha. Failed to find Sentu, they beat up Wabaidul and his wife Monwara Begum and ransacked their house.
Another group of cheated people stormed the house of Abdul Aziz at Sheikhpara where Freedom rented a branch office. They later torched the house.
People also held wife and 12-year-old son of Anarul of West Madhnagar on Friday night but released them yesterday when UP member Golam Joarder assured them of handing over Anarul.
Anarul, a surrendered member of Purba Banglar Communist Party, was Freedom’s branch manager at East Madhnagar.
SYLHET NGO
The NGO, Islamic Development Foundation (IDF) had earlier promised to return depositor’s money with interest from its office in Gopalganj upazila headquarters on May 9 in presence of its high officials.
But the depositors on Friday learned that IDF has vanished with the money and informed police.
The NGO started its activities in Gopalganj in February this year initially by providing ‘loan’. It collected Tk 1,000 from each depositor for giving them Tk 10,000 and Tk 2,000 for giving Tk 20,000.
Tk 7cr more gone with 2 other Natore NGOs
Registrations of Freedom Unnayan Sangstha and Probhati Grameen Unnayan Sangstha that disappeared on February 28 and March 4 with huge amount of money were cancelled.
Bank authorities said they have been asked by the district administration to freeze accounts, if any, of the two NGOs.
Victims of these NGOs held a protest meeting in Nasratpur from where they announced to besiege Natore Deputy Commissioner’s Office on Sunday.
Meanwhile, Jibon Dhara, an unregistered NGO in Dhamongram village in Naldanga, and Doel Bahumukhi Atma-Karmasangsthan Sangstha in Durgapur, Rajshahi have disappeared.
Jibon Dhara staffs Shahidul Islam and Moazzem Hossain told reporters the NGO had collected about Tk 4 crore from 6,000 members through 104 branches in Natore, Rajshahi and other districts.
“The NGO men were distributing money among its members of Dhamongram and announced refunding its members from other villages today [Thursday]. But we found its office shut and no-one was available,” said Azad of Dharampur in Durgapur, Rajshahi.
Doel men also disappeared in a similar fashion with Tk 3 crore collected from 104 branches. Officials of many other NGOs also went into hiding as angry members began to hold officials.
Victims of Sonar Bangla held its staff Rois in Babur Pukur in Natore and took him to Bhabni in Naldanga. They also picked up Nurul Islam, brother of NGO staff Walimuddin, and another staff Zamal in Bhabni and beat them up.
Leaflets were circulated in Naldanga villages on behalf of the victims of Freedom and Probhati drawing attention of the chief adviser and the army chief.
Police and district administration officials visited the NGOs several times, held meetings with the victims and asked them not to worry.
Sources said Freedom director Ishaq Mia before disappearing gave his 15 reliable staffs including the area manager and branch heads Tk 10 crore to share among them.
“It’s not possible to do business here any longer despite bribing the police and administration Tk 50 crore,” he was quoted as telling his staffs.
