Damurhuda (Chuadanga) Correspondent:
A mobile court has fined Abdul Alim, the owner of ‘Alim Traders’ located at Natipota More in Damurhuda Upazila of Chuadanga district, a huge amount of money under the Consumer Rights Protection Act.
In a special operation conducted today (December 4) on Thursday afternoon, he was fined Tk 30,000 for not preserving vouchers. This punishment has sent a strong message about maintaining transparency in the fertilizer business. The operation was conducted at Natipota More at around 1:25 pm on Thursday. Businessman Abdul Alim is the son of Mokim Mandal of Natipota village and has been associated with the local fertilizer business for a long time.
During the operation of the mobile court, it was seen that Abdul Alim did not preserve any vouchers or cash memos for the purchase and sale of fertilizer in his business establishment. At the same time, he completely failed to provide accurate information about the amount of fertilizer being purchased and sold to farmers and the general public.
Due to serious irregularities such as not preserving vouchers and failing to provide accurate information, the mobile court imposed this fine on him under Section 53 of the Consumer Rights Protection Act, 2009. This section provides for punishment for not preserving statutory documents in business transactions.
The mobile court was conducted by Damurhuda Upazila Nirbahi Officer (Acting) and Upazila Assistant Commissioner (Land) (Executive Magistrate) KH Tasfiqur Rahman. He imposed the fine through an immediate verdict. Damurhuda Upazila Agriculture Officer Sharmin Akhter played the important role of prosecutor (arguing in favor of the case) during the drive.
The presence of the agriculture officer made it possible to get immediate and expert opinions about the storage, supply of fertilizer and its impact at the farmer level.
In addition, a smart team of Damurhuda Model Police Station provided all-round cooperation to ensure the smooth and smooth functioning of the mobile court. The concerned authorities have expressed a strict stance on this issue. They said that the government is determined to ensure discipline in the sale and distribution of fertilizer and protect the interests of farmers.
In particular, such campaigns will be conducted regularly to prevent the tendency of creating an artificial shortage of fertilizer or selling it at an excessive price. Local administration officials believe that this incident in Natipota will act as a warning to local fertilizer traders. They hope that as a result, traders will make more efforts to maintain proper records or vouchers of transactions in accordance with the law and sell fertilizer at the price fixed by the government.