Rajbiraj, November 26

Shortage of chemical fertiliser during wheat cultivation season has hit farmers badly in Saptari. Due to fertiliser crunch in the market, black-marketing has become rampant.

Local farmers said they were compelled to reach the district headquarters almost every day, but had to return empty-handed.

Ram Prasad Yadav, a farmer of Mahadeba Rural Municipality, said he had to return empty-handed even after visiting the headquarters for three consecutive days. He further said the cooperative in the village did not provide chemical fertiliser even at high prices and the administration seemed least bothered about the problems of villagers. “Leaders have no time to listen to farmers’ plight,” he added.

Another farmer, Lal Bahadur Bista from Saptakoshi Municipality, said local farmers were compelled to keep the field barren for want of fertiliser. Farmers said chemical fertiliser available at the sub-branch of Agriculture Materials Centre Limited in Rajbiraj was sold at high price. “But now the situation is such that we cannot get fertiliser even after paying extra money,” they complained.

District Cooperative Office said that chemical fertilisers were sold at high prices due to increment in transportation charges.

Abinas Gupta, chief at Kanchan Sagarmath Cooperative Limited, Kanchanpur, said they could not sell fertiliser as per the price list.

Chairman Binod Kumar Dev at Ma Chandi Agriculture Cooperative Limited said they were also facing problems as farmers had stopped buying fertilisers.

“Farmers are not ready to buy fertiliser at higher price and we cannot provide them fertiliser at the old rates as we have paid extra money for transportation,” he added.

Meanwhile, acting chief at Ma Chandi said chemical fertiliser would reach the office within a week.