Govt to distribute 7 lakh tonnes of food grains in March-April

The government will distribute around seven lakh tonnes of food grains through various programmes in March and April, Food and Land Adviser Ali Imam Majumdar said today.

Under the "Food Friendly Programme," three lakh tonnes of rice will be provided to 50 lakh families, with each family receiving 30 kg of rice at Tk 15 per kg, the adviser said after the first session of the Food and Land Ministry on the second day of the Deputy Commissioners (DC) conference.

Additionally, one lakh tonnes of rice will be distributed in the two months through the Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB), and another one lakh tonnes will be allocated via the Open Market Sale (OMS) scheme.

During the Eid-ul-fitr, the government will provide 10 kg of rice free of cost to one crore families, alongside several other initiatives, the adviser said.

To ensure smooth distribution during Ramadan, the adviser instructed DCs to implement the programmes in an organised manner.

"A significant quantity of food grains will be sold at subsidised rates, and in some cases, distributed for free during Ramadan. I have directed DCs to ensure proper implementation," he said.

He emphasised that these measures aim to stabilise rice prices in the market. Various agencies will conduct the distribution, but DCs will oversee supervision, particularly in Dhaka, where monitoring had been less stringent in the past.

"I held a separate meeting with the commissioners of Dhaka division and will meet again. There are 122 sales centres and 70 truck sales points in the division," he added.

The meeting was attended by the secretary of the Ministry of Food and Land and other senior officials.