The police seized the urea fertilizer intended for farmers in Katari on Thursday evening while it was being sold on the black market and sent to a trader in Dudhauli, Sindhuli.
What you should know
Police have seized more than 200 bags of chemical fertilizers in Katari, Udayapur.
The police seized the fertilizer on Thursday evening while it was being sent to a trader in Dudhauli, Sindhuli, after black marketing the urea fertilizer that was meant for Katari farmers.
After receiving information that the Durga Bhawani Cooperative, run by Peshal Bhattarai and Hira Bastola, was sending the subsidized urea fertilizer to Dudhauli through black marketing, a team including the coordinator of the Kisan Sangharsh Samiti, found it and handed it over to the police, said Katari Municipality Mayor Rajesh Chandra Shrestha. Mayor Shrestha said that the fertilizer and the people involved were handed over to the Dudhauli Police on the initiative of the committee.
The Kisan Sangharsh Samiti says that it is illegal for the cooperative to send the subsidized fertilizer to other vendors when the farmers are facing an acute shortage of fertilizer. The committee has demanded strict action against all those involved in the incident.
Committee coordinator Thapa accused commission, black marketing and creating artificial shortages in the fertilizer distribution process. A committee has been formed under the coordination of Katari Municipality Deputy Mayor Geeta Khadka to recommend cooperatives for fertilizer sales. Farmers have complained that even fertilizers recommended by the committee and the agriculture department are being sold in black markets.
After the incident, a meeting chaired by Katari Municipality Deputy Mayor and Local Fertilizer Distribution Management Committee Coordinator Khadka decided to recommend the concerned body to cancel the fertilizer sales certificate issued by Durga Bhawani Agricultural Cooperative.
Similarly, the meeting also decided to conduct joint monitoring of the warehouses of fertilizer sellers within Katari Municipality. Dudhauli Police has also stated that an investigation has been initiated into the incident.
