Stop manipulation of rice in food warehouses

Once upon a time, the Magh pirates came and plundered the wealth of this land. It is said they even harvested crops from the fields. Today the Maghs are no more, but homegrown pirates are on the rise. By manipulating rice in food warehouses, they are pocketing crores of taka. Such a report was published yesterday, Monday, 22 September.

According to the media, there is evidence that substandard and inedible rice was brought into the Rajshahi food warehouse and then swapped. The officials in charge of the warehouse themselves are involved. In collusion with them, some unscrupulous traders have been secretly supplying and replacing rice. Last Saturday morning at the Bhabaniganj food warehouse in Bagmara upazila of the district, such a swapping incident was caught red-handed.

The role of government food warehouses is crucial for ensuring food security in Bangladesh. Buying paddy from marginal farmers at fair prices and distributing rice to the public at affordable prices—these are the core responsibilities of the warehouses. Unfortunately, time and again, stories of irregularities, corruption and non-transparent dealings emerge from them. The latest incident of rice “manipulation” and crore-taka scams in the Rajshahi warehouse proves the saying that the “ghost is hiding in the mustard seeds.”

According to regulations, paddy should be bought from farmers and then milled rice collected through contracted millers. But allegations say that with the collusion of officials, rice was collected directly without buying paddy. This allowed them to embezzle vast sums of money by claiming costs for sorting, transport and quality rice. A source said dishonest officials committed these irregularities in collaboration with the district food controller. 

If such manipulation occurs with the connivance of the food controller, how can people retain faith in the administration? Allegations of changing rice quality, reducing weight, black market sales and inserting fake lists into warehouses are nothing new. Yet every year the government spends crores of taka to keep storage and distribution systems transparent. Such manipulation not only damages the government’s economy but most of all erodes public trust. When ordinary people cannot get rice at fair prices, and farmers cannot sell their paddy at fair prices, corruption only deepens their anger. As a result, the state’s food policy comes under question.

Strict action against these looters is now urgent. Without identifying those responsible through a transparent investigation and bringing them under the law, this manipulation will not stop. At the same time, modern technology, digital monitoring systems and regular audits must be introduced in warehouse management. Food is a basic human right. Manipulating this right and indulging in corruption worth crores of taka can in no way be accepted. The Rajshahi incident is a warning signal—if action is not taken immediately, food warehouses will completely lose public trust in the future. 

According to official sources, the government is taking initiatives to build more food warehouses to ensure national food security. To this end, in 2023 a project to construct 196 new warehouses and in 2024 an initiative to renovate 319 warehouses at a cost of Tk 300 crore were undertaken by the food ministry of the former Awami League government. The Awami League government fell due to various misgovernance and corruption, so who is committing this manipulation now? The interim government must ensure justice quickly. If the protector becomes the predator, where will ordinary people turn? The government cannot in any way avoid responsibility for this administrative failure.