Open Market Sale of coarse rice has failed to draw attention of low-income groups in the district and they have declined to buy the staple food item for its poor taste and its tendency to decay fast within hours after cooking.
OMS dealers said they could not sell even 100 kilogrammes of coarse rice throughout the day whereas boiled rice amounting to 1000kgs or more is sold within hours.
Commoners said they were not habituated to eating coarse rice. Only the inmates of Rajbari district jail, Ansar adjutant office staff and those of fire brigade were compelled to take such rice.
“We asked the authority not to allocate coarse rice,” said Saidul Kabir, an OMS dealer in Rajbari Sadar upazila.
The consumers said their children did not like to eat coarse rice as it was not tasty like the fine one.
“We buy fine rice from local markets for high prices, but not the coarse one,” said Kanchan Bibi, a buyer from Bhobanipur village in the upazila.
Another buyer Kohinur Begum echoed the same sentiment.
She said: “We need to cook coarse rice three times a day which decays within a few hours after cooking while the fine one lasts long, and in that case, cooking once a day is enough.”
The Department of Food sells tonnes of rice per month to OMS dealers and other departments, said Muhammad Tanveer Rahman, district food controller.
Rajbari district jail superintendent said the supply of coarse rice might lead to dissatisfaction among inmates in the jail accommodating over 370 prisoners and 50 jail policemen.
Additional Director Rajkumar Das of Rajbari Fire Service Station told this correspondent their children strongly objected to eating this rice.
The low-income groups often return empty-handed being cheated at the hand of the OMS dealers.
District food Inspector Muhammad Tanvir Rahman told this correspondent on Thursday, shortage of manpower was hampering their monitoring of OMS sales.
There are only three sub-inspectors in the Department of Food Office of Rajbari district.
The government authorised 12 OMS dealers for Rajbari Sadar upazila, but most of them were not selling Ata at their outlets.
The dealers were alleged to have been selling Ata – which was meant for OMS sale – on the black market, thus depriving people of a fair-price buy.
The government launched the Open Market Sale of Ata in the district in last June and each of the 12 dealers got 1000kg Ata every day to sell.
An official of food department seeking anonymity said each OMS dealer had been selling only 200kg-300kg flour every day since launching of the programme.
The authorities are yet to take any steps against those corrupt dealers who are allegedly committing such sales malpractice with connivance of some millers and food department staff.
Refuting the allegation against food department staff, district food controller laid the blame on OMS dealers and millers.
The food official, however, admitted their failure to take action against the dishonest dealers.
He also attributed manpower shortage to lack of market monitoring.
