Sohanul Haq Parvez, Tanore (Natore)

Serious allegations of corruption and syndicate-driven trading have surfaced against the Kamargaon Government Food Grain Silo in Tanore Upazila.

A powerful individual with political backing, identified as Jewel, has allegedly formed an illicit syndicate in collusion with food silo officials to monopolize the ongoing Boro paddy procurement drive. As a result, genuine marginal farmers are being systematically deprived of fair prices and direct access to the government repository.

This year, regular farmers have been largely excluded from the internal Boro procurement drive. Instead, Jewel has been depositing massive quantities of paddy using rented agriculture cards, often without the knowledge of the listed cardholders. When ordinary farmers attempt to sell their yields directly, silo officials turn them away under the pretext of high moisture content or substandard quality. Frustrated and helpless, many marginal growers feel compelled to rent out their government-issued cards to the syndicate.

Local farmers, including Rubel, Shahidul, Ganesh, and Faruk, testified that they were repeatedly turned away by the facility over moisture parameters. Paradoxically, the syndicate purchased that exact same rejected paddy from them at low market rates and deposited it into the government silo without any hitches. According to official guidelines, procurement must occur in the physical presence of the designated cardholder. However, the syndicate is operating with hundreds of cards belonging to inactive farmers, or individuals who did not even cultivate paddy this season. Sources claim that standard quality assessments are being openly bypassed, and paddy grown in outside districts is being smuggled into the Tanore facility in exchange for a bribe of BDT 1,500 to BDT 3,000 per metric ton paid to the Local Supply Depot (LSD) officer. Insiders suggest that a formal cross-check of CCTV footage, farmer phone logs, and grain moisture levels would immediately expose the fraud.

While the market price for coarse paddy currently ranges between BDT 800 and BDT 1,000 per maund, the government procurement price is locked at BDT 1,440 per maund (BDT 36 per kg). This disparity allows the politically backed syndicate to pocket a massive profit of BDT 400 to BDT 500 per maund by importing cheap paddy from Pabna, Natore, and Naogaon to dump into the Tanore depot. This widespread corruption is severely tarnishing the government's pro-farmer reputation at the grassroots level.

The Boro procurement drive in Tanore was officially inaugurated on Tuesday, May 19, 2026. Under the current food grain collection framework, the government aims to procure 406 metric tons of parboiled rice at BDT 49 per kg from automated and husking mills, 300 metric tons of wheat, and 1,560 metric tons of paddy at BDT 36 per kg. The drive is scheduled to run until August 31, 2026. Out of this total target, the Kamargaon silo is tasked with collecting 555 metric tons of paddy exclusively from Kamargaon and Kolma unions.

Speaking on condition of anonymity, a senior leader of the ruling party expressed dismay: "It is deeply unfortunate that a group of influential political opportunists has hijacked the Kamargaon operations. They divided up the unions, collected voter IDs from unsuspecting farmers, and manufactured arbitrary lists to execute this fraud." He added that he had initially proposed prioritizing marginalized farmers who were neglected during the previous autocratic regime, but his suggestions were thwarted by the greed of this syndicate. He urged the party high command to intervene, stating that those destroying the Prime Minister's farmer-welfare initiatives must face strict legal punishments.

When confronted with the allegations, Atiqur Rahman Atiq, the Officer-in-Charge (LSD) of the Kamargaon Food Silo, denied any wrongdoing, stating, "We are strictly following the 2026 guidelines to procure grain until August 31, and we are purchasing paddy exclusively from legitimate farmers." Similarly, Upazila Food Controller (TCF) Parveen stated that she had not received any written complaints but promised to thoroughly investigate the matter.

Meanwhile, a field review across Haripur, Chhaor, Malshira, Kachua, and Kadipur villages under Kamargaon Union revealed a total lack of awareness. Out of nearly fifty farmers interviewed, almost all stated that they heard rumors about a government procurement drive but had no idea how or when it took place.

There was no visible public relations campaign by the food department, leaving the majority of actual growers completely unaware of the government price or their individual right to sell directly to the state repository.