Rajbiraj, December 8

Local farmers have been hit hard by shortage of chemical fertilisers in the market as the cultivation season has already kicked in Saptari.

A farmer, Ramwati Sha, of Rupni Rural Municipality said she did not get chemical fertiliser even if she reached Rajbiraj for the past four days. “I lined up for fertiliser since early morning every day but did not get it,” she added.

Another farmer Krishna Bihari Meheta of Hanumannagar said though they queued up for fertiliser since early morning, there was no guarantee that they would get it. He said their fields were already for wheat cultivation.

Like, Mehata and Sha, most farmers across the district are facing the problem. Local farmers reached the district headquarters almost on a daily basis but had to return home empty-handed. They also said cooperatives operated in their villages were of no use at this hour. The farmers further complained that the cooperatives charged them high prices if at all fertilisers were available there. They accused the cooperatives of being involved in black marketing of chemical fertilisers.

Meanwhile, Ramesh Kumar Gupta, manager of the District Cooperative said they had failed to provide chemical fertilisers to farmers due to inadequate supply of fertilisers in the district. He added that the problem had occurred after Salt Trading Corporation failed to supply fertilisers as per the demand.