Editorial
Why take it out on the media?
A little introspection would do good
Although the adviser for industry, Geeteara Safiya Choudhury has changed her tack a few times since she first blamed the fertiliser crisis on media hype and the impatience of farmers in long queues, her original observations do not cease to ring into the ears. She is urging the journalists now to read out to the farmers 'who can't read' the newspaper ad. put up by the government declaring that there is no fertiliser crisis. But if insistence on stock position being satisfactory and admitting to existence of some 'distribution problems' do not constitute a crisis than what does?
If reports are unpalatable to a government functionary, journalists worth the salt and true to their profession, can't withhold such information just to be in good book of the government but betraying public interest. We have seen during the time of elected governments whenever something went wrong due to governmental incompetence two things happened: first, they at once went into denial mode and; secondly, habitual media bashers came on to the scene berating the media harshly. In this interim government we expected a break but there it is occasionally the media is being made a scapegoat by some advisers.
Over the last couple of weeks, farmers have been agitating against acute dearth of fertiliser to start the boro plantation early in the season. In places like Savar, Baliakandi, Pangsha and Shibganj in Bogra there were disturbances and manhandling and confinement of officials. Law and order forces had to intervene to quell commotion. There was even confrontation between dealers and farmers. Similar things happened last year around and quite evidently we failed to wizen to streamline the distribution network this season around. Lack of coordination between Agriculture Extension Department and UNO office in different upazilas is said to be deepening the crisis of distribution. The government claims it has sufficient stock of fertiliser, but for all we know, it is going on massive shopping to import urea worth more than Tk one thousand crore.
What stocks are or will be worth, if these do not reach the farmers in good time? At long last, the government has decided to employ 14,400 sale representatives in addition to 4,800 existing dealers considered too sparse for the whole country.
Let's hope the crisis will be soon overcome. Meanwhile, advisers should contain their temptation to blame the media for their lack of efficiency and effectiveness.
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