Urea dealer asked to explain seizure
Source: Chronicle News Service
Imphal, June 21 2023:
While conceding that a fertiliser dealer used his name after getting intercepted by public while transporting truckload of urea at Langtha bal Lep on Tuesday night, ag riculture minister Thongam Biswajit said that he has no involvement in the case and explanation call notice has been served to the particular dealer for taking his name.
The minister made the clarification while addressing a press conference at the conference hall of the office of agriculture directorate here on Wednesday along with agriculture commissioner RK Dinesh, director N Gojendro and assistant fertiliser officer Shanta.
The minister said that the urea intercepted at Langtha-bal Lep was the consignment allocated to a dealer called Sarangthem Enterprises.
While reiterating that he has neither any connection with the dealer not had met any representatives of the dealer so far, he said there are strict instructions to take approval of the district magistrate concerned if a dealer were to transport fertiliser from one district to another.
Along with handing over the case to the police for investigation explanation call notice has been served to the dealer for using his name and also claiming that they were transporting the urea with government approval,'the minister maintained.
Highlighting past issues pertaining to distribution of urea, the minister said that he and the department officials had a meeting with dealers and farmers' organisations to chalk out mechanisms to ensure timely and adequate availability of urea.
Irrespective of the party at fault, it is always the agriculture department that takes the blame whenever there are issues regarding urea availability.
In order to avoid such unwanted situation, the department had asked factories not to issue allocation to any dealer without prior intimation with the state government's department concerned, he added.
Biswajit further said that the allocation for Kharif crops for the state for the year 2023-24 is 20,000 MT.
Out of these, 16,340 MT will be supplied by Brahmaputra Valley Fertiliser Corporation and the remaining 5400 MT by Indorama.
Dealers have started transportation of fertiliser for the upcoming season and will be completed within a few days.
Distribution of urea will be taken up through a mechanism agreed upon by the department and farmers' organisations.
The department will maintain complete transparency in this regard.
It will publish buffer stocks of fertiliser in media and update stocks from time to time through radio, television and print media as well, he added.