Ulipur (Kurigram) Representative:Deputy Assistant Agriculture Officer Swapan Kumar faced a protest by angry farmers over fertilizer on the evening of September 18 at Gabtali Bazar in Bajra Union of Ulipur. When the situation heated up, he took refuge in a shop. Later, the police went to the spot and rescued him and handed him over to a colleague.

Some of the farmers present at the spot complained that they were not getting the required amount of fertilizer from the designated dealer, but the local retail market was getting it at a higher price. Some of them alleged collusion between dealers, retailers and field officials. The independent veracity of the allegations has not been confirmed till then.

Upazila Agriculture Officer. Shahidul Islam said that there was no scheduled fertilizer distribution in that market that day and the concerned official went there for personal work. He also said that the complaints of the farmers will be investigated.

Investigation officer of Ulipur police station said, for security, the agricultural officer was rescued and handed over to his colleague after interrogation. Local farmers have demanded that the list of fertilizer allocation, sale price and distribution be made public so that similar situations do not happen again.