Baralekha (Moulvibazar) Correspondent:
In Baralekha, Moulvibazar, the municipality authorities buried 234 sacks of VGF rice, which were unfit for distribution due to flash floods and landslides.
On Sunday afternoon, 7 metric tons of rotten rice were dug in a hole and buried. The officials, employees and service recipients of the municipality had been suffering from the stench of rotten rice for a long time.
According to relevant sources, the district administration allocated about 31 metric tons (1027 sacks) of VGF rice to Baralekha Municipality for distribution among the poor ahead of the holy Eid-ul-Azha on June 7. The rice was lifted from the food godown on May 29 and kept in the municipality hall. Although preparations were made to start the distribution from June 2, on May 31, the municipality office was submerged in 3-4 feet of water due to flash floods and mountain streams. Along with other damages, 234 bags of VGF rice got wet and spoiled, making the distribution unusable. The rice was rotting and emitting a foul smell. Finally, the municipality authorities buried the rice in the abandoned area of the municipality’s cattle market on Sunday afternoon.
Upazila Youth Development Officer SM Jamaluddin, Press Club General Secretary Abdur Rob, Municipality Deputy Assistant Engineer Debjit Chandra Das, Administrative Officer Fakhrul Amin Khan, Accountant Abdul Latif, Tax Assessor Tofail Ahmed, Businessman Shamim Ahmed, and others were present at the time.
Barolekha Municipality Administrator and Upazila Executive Officer (UNO) Tahmina Akter said that the rice unfit for distribution by VGF was spreading a foul smell in the municipality office. To ensure that the environment is not harmed, a five-member committee was formed with Upazila Youth Development Officer SM Jamal Uddin as the convener. Based on the opinion of the committee, 234 sacks of rice were buried.
