Urea smuggling: Racket active in Kamrup and Kamrup Metro

STAFF REPORTER

GUWAHATI: Smuggling of urea by a section of unscrupulous businessmen in cahoots with some government officials is going on in Assam.

Sources revealed that the coterie smuggles out urea to several neighbouring countries, including Myanmar.

The demand for urea is rising fast due to the mushroom growth of plywood and other industries in the neighbouring countries. Plywood and some other industries use urea.

A section of the businessmen manages to get an allotment of urea consignments in the name of some fake farmers.

An RTI reply revealed that the unscrupulous businessmen have also been running such smuggling rackets from Kamrup and Kamrup Metro, besides other districts of the State.

According to the information received by RTI activist Prakash Kumar Saikia, Guwahati, a section of wholesalers and retailers of the two districts manages to get allotment orders in the name of their family members and fake farmers and smuggles out the urea consignment in the black market.

Such illegal trade has also been going on in Dhemaji and Darrang districts, the RTI papers revealed.

In a complaint lodged before the Director of Agriculture on September 29, 2021, Saikia alleged that a section of wholesalers and retailers of Kamrup Metro and Kamrup districts have been running such rackets by smuggling out subsidized urea meant for farmers. This way, they siphon off a huge amount of money each month, Saikia alleged in his complaint.

Saikia also alleged that a wholesaler of Kamrup district is controlling the whole trade sitting in a corner in Karnataka. He also sought legal action against these businessmen.

Saikia said that a month after his complaint, the Director of Agriculture directed the District Agriculture Officer (DAO), Kamrup district to take the necessary action under the Fertilizer (Control) Order, 1985 and submit the action taken report based on the DAO's findings.

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