VGF rice yet to be distributed among the distressed in Gaibandha

GAIBANDHA, Aug 3: Rice of Vulnerable Group Feeding (VGF) meant for the distressed are yet to be distributed to the beneficiaries following a conflict between chairman and members of Laxipur union parishad (UP) of Sadar upazila.
Suspension of distributing the rice before Eid-ul-Fitr, the distressed of the union could not celebrate their festival smoothly, it was alleged.
According to sources, the upazila relief and rehabilitation office alloted a total of 19.270 metric tonnes of rice under VGF programme for the 1927 distressed families of Laxipur UP of the upazila.
The objective of the rice allotment was to help the distressed celebrate the Eid festival without food crisis as each of the distressed was supposed to get 10 kgs of rice under the programme.
The chairman and members of the union parishad were asked to distribute the rice to the selected beneficiaries from June 29 to June 30, 2015 from the upazila administration.
After two weeks, the chairman of the UP lifted the rice from the food godown of the food department on July 15 violating the office order.
But, due to a conflict between the UP chairman and the members the rice was not distributed to the beneficiaries of the union till August 2. A result the distressed could not celebrate the festival properly.
Abdul Goffar, a distressed one of the union said he expected he would get 10 kgs of rice by which he would be enabled to celebrate the festival with the family members without food crisis.
Like other distressed ones he could not celebrate the festival smoothly for not getting the rice from the government due to the conflict of the UP chairman and the members.
UP chairman Golam Azam said he could not distribute the rice to the selected beneficiaries before Eid-ul-Fitr for want of cooperation of the UP members.
At one stage, Sadar UNO Ashraful Momin Khan went to the UP office after the festival on July 20 and sought cooperation of the UP members to distribute rice to the beneficiaries. But all the UP members expressed their helplessness to the UNO in this regard.
When contacted, the UP members said they had submitted no-confidence proposal against the UP chairman Golam Azam to the deputy commissioner in written form on different grounds including irregulaties and corruption and that they were not interested to work under the chairman.
However, the members of the civil society of the union urged the authorities concerned to look into the matter seriously and take necessary steps to distribute the rice to the distressed without delay.
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