Six Tonnes of Fishermen's Relief Rice Allegedly Embezzled in Amtali, Over a Hundred Sent Back Empty-Handed

Allegations of irregularities have surfaced in the distribution of relief rice among fishermen in Arpangashia Union of Amtali upazila in Barguna. Registered fishermen allege that Union Parishad administrative officer Md Zakir Hossain and UP members embezzled six tonnes of rice instead of distributing it. More than a hundred registered card-holding fishermen were reportedly turned away without rice on the excuse that their names were not on the list. The fishermen raised the allegations on Tuesday and demanded a quick investigation and necessary action.

To protect hilsa resources, the government has banned catching, harvesting and transporting hilsa from October 8 to 29. To ease fishermen's hardship during the ban, the government allocated VGF rice as humanitarian assistance, at 25 kilograms per fisherman. Amtali upazila has seven thousand registered fishermen, and rice was allocated for all seven thousand of them.

It is alleged that 40 tonnes of rice were allocated for the 1,600 fishermen of Arpangashia Union. The fishermen allege that administrative officer Md Zakir Hossain and the UP members embezzled the rice instead of distributing it among all the fishermen. Fishermen named Jalal, Khalil and Jamal Gazi alleged that more than a hundred registered fishermen who came with their cards to collect rice had to return empty-handed.

Inquiries found that administrative officer Md Zakir Hossain released 34 tonnes of rice from the upazila food godown instead of the allocated 40 tonnes. The fishermen allege that the remaining six tonnes were embezzled rather than given to them. Rice distribution in the union ended last Monday. The fishermen say verifying the signatures and thumbprints on the distribution list would reveal the truth about the alleged embezzlement.

Fisherman Jalal said that despite having a fisherman's card, he was not given rice. He was turned away on the excuse that his name was not on the list. He added that more than a hundred fishermen who came with cards had to go back, because they were told their names were not on the fishermen's list.

Another fisherman, Khalil, said that 35 registered fishermen of Ward No. 1 of the union were denied rice by administrative officer Md Zakir Hossain and UP member Khabir Hossain. They were told that although they were registered, their names were not on the list. He demanded an investigation and necessary action.

A man named Nashir Mal alleged that at least 30 registered fishermen of Ward No. 3 were not given rice because their names were supposedly not on the list. He asked: if rice was allocated in the name of all registered fishermen, where did the rice of these 30 fishermen go?

On the other hand, Md Bashir Hawlader, UP member of Ward No. 6, said, 'In my ward, rice has been given to all 270 fishermen on the list. No fisherman was allowed to return empty-handed.'

An official engaged in rice distribution work at the Amtali food godown, speaking on condition of anonymity, said the Arpangashia Union Parishad administrative officer had released 34 tonnes of rice. He did not take the rest, leaving it at the godown.

Responding to the allegations, Arpangashia Union Parishad administrative officer Md Zakir Hossain denied everything, saying, 'No such incident happened. I distributed rice among all the fishermen. False allegations have been made against me.'

Amtali upazila agriculture officer Md Russell, who is also serving as the Arpangashia Union Parishad chairman, said, 'Rice has been distributed among all the fishermen. I have received no complaint from anyone who did not get rice.'

Amid the conflicting claims, the fishermen have a single demand — an investigation verifying the signatures and thumbprints on the distribution list. Only that verification will make clear whose hands the allocated rice actually reached, and where the account of the six tonnes went wrong.