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Irregularities in OMS keep poor at bay

Staff Correspondent
Irregularities in Open Market Sale (OMS) programme do not allow the poor to buy rice at subsidised price regularly, alleged people queuing up at different OMS centres in the capital yesterday.
The dealers on various pretexts keep back the daily allotment of rice earmarked for the economically hard-pressed people in the city, said the consumers.
Elderly women Belatan Begum, Jahanara Begum, Moniruzzaman and Runu of Free School Street area yesterday returned home empty-handed from the OMS centre set up near Shikdar Bari.
"I managed to buy some rice only
yesterday after standing in line for three consecutive days," Belatan toldTheDaily Staryesterday.
"But today they’ve refused me again saying the allotment was over."
Despite having two sacks of rice still left, the dealers have stopped the sale by 11:00 am, whereas they were supposed to continue till 4 pm, said Runu, a day labourer.
"They sell only two or three kilograms of rice to each person, though we have heard the government has fixed it to be five kilos," said Jahanara Begum.
"I just don’t understand why they stop selling when they still have rice in stock," said Moniruzzaman.
A worker at the centre said the
stock was meant for the following day.
Firoza Begum of Shikdar Bari said despite repeated attempts yesterday and the day before she could not procure rice from the OMS centre.
Towfiq, dealer of the Shikdar Bari OMS, said that the daily allotment of 510 kg is too meagre to meet the huge demand of consumers.
"We would not have been able to continue the sale till 4 pm even if three tonnes of rice were allotted daily," Towfiq said, "We allow each person to buy two or three kilos to cover more people."
About 100 yards from Towfiq's centre, Mohiuddin runs another OMS centre in Free School Street area.
At least five women of the local-ity were denied rice at Mohiuddin's centre yesterday, though there was no one other than those five.
"Here we have arranged that only men will get rice from this centre while women will get from the other one/ said Mohiuddin.
Sakhina Begum, a street vendor, said instead of five kilos, Mohiuddin sells only three kilos of rice per person.
Mohiuddin said that four out of the allotted five sacks of rice were sold out by 10:30 in the morning.
Meanwhile, when asked about the separate arrangement for men and women, Towfiq said, "We at our centre sell rice both to men and women and there is no such arrangement."
The OMS sale of rice at Palashi kitchen market closed before 11:00 am yesterday.
Dealer Khurshed Alam said he had to close the sale because he had run out of the day’s allotment.
Nazma Begum and Maksuda Akhtar, two housewives, came to Palashi market from as far as Kamrangir Char yesterday but found the sale closed.
"My husband, a rickshawpuller, told me of the low-price rice here. I've been coming to the centre for last three days but got rice only once and that too after a long wait," said Nazma.
She said that five kilo low-price rice that she bought the other day, was of great help as it saved her at least Tk 25, enough to manage a day's kitchen shopping.
As there is no QMS centre in her locality, she has to come such a long way every day.
Many poor people at the Malibagh kitchen market alleged the dealer in the market sells rice for a very short period and close the sale refusing many still standing in line.
On a visit to different OMS centres, The Daily Star correspondent did not find any food department officials there.
A worker at an OMS centre in the Free School Street said food officials come to the centre as early as 7:30 in the morning to open the sale and leave in a while.
He said food officials use indelible ink to mark the person who has bought rice from the OMS centre.
Despite the OMS programme running for last two weeks, there has not been any significant fall in the prices of rice in the retail markets.
Price of Minikit rice still ranges fromTk20 to 22, NazirshailTk20 to 24 and PyjamTkl8 a kilo.