People in northern districts, particularly low income groups, are facing hard days as rice prices have soared in all markets while harvest of Amon paddy is yet to be over.

Coarse rice is being sold at Tk 28 to Tk 30 per kilogram and finer varieties at Tk 34 to Tk 38 in most areas in northern districts.

Price of coarse rice increased by Tk 6 per kilogram and fine rice by Tk 10 per kilogram in retail markets in last seven days.

Sources in wholesale markets said, rice prices increase by at least Tk 100 per bag (80 kg) every day.

Rice traders in Rangpur, Kurigram. Lalmonirhat and adjoining districts apprehended that the prices would go up further in next few days because of what they said short supply of Amon paddy in markets.

Meanwhile, most of the rice mills in northern districts remained closed due to short supply of paddy.

Ashraful, owner of Rafiq Rice Mills at Mahiganj in Rangpur said, 10 rice mills out of 113 in the area are operating. The rest are closed as the owners could not buy paddy from markets.

Abdur Razzak, proprietor of RR Traders at Kurigram BSC1C (Bangladesh Small and Cottage Industries Corporation) industrial estate said, all of the rice mills in industrial zone is closed for want of paddy.

He also explained that rice traders from Nagaon and Khulna purchased huge quantities of paddy from all markets in Kurigram before the Eid-ul-Azha and build stocks.

This correspondent also talked to a number of farmers in the districts regarding Amon production in the current season. All of them said, the yield abnormally low this year.

Abu Bakr Siddique of Sona Roy village in Domar upazila said, "1 sold about 350 mound of Amon

paddy last year but this year I could not sell anything due to damage caused by floods.

Low incoming people arc the worst sufferers due to the high price of rice in markets.

Talking to this correspondent, some day labourers and rickshawpullers said they can not buy the daily requirement of rice as prices started galloping about two weeks ago.

Rickshawpuller /Main Badsha in Aditmari in Lalmonirhat district said his family need 3 kilograms of rice every day, which he can hardly afford.

Ranjit of Nabdiganj in Kaunia, Dulu Mohanta of Binnatari in Rangpur Sadar upazila also narrated the same story.

When contacted, Rangpur Deputy Commissioner Khondoker Atiar Rahman said, the price hike of rice is caused by floods which hit the district twice this year damaging crops.