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The target of wheat production in Narsingdi and Sirajganj is unlikely to be achieved this season.
   Sources in the Department of Agriculture Extension in Narsingdi said this year the total land brought under wheat cultivation was less than the target fixed earlier for the current season.
   A total of 4,300 hectares of land was brought under wheat cultivation, but only 4,000 hectares of land was cultivated.
   Production target, as a result, will not be achieved, sources concerned said.
   The prime time for sowing wheat is from November 15 to December 15.
   Wheat production, the DAE sources said, depends largely on congenial atmosphere with suitable land, which is already available in the district.
   Cultivation of wheat started increasing in the district during 1970s and 1980s. But the farmers became more interested in boro farming in place of wheat after 1980s.
   The farmers, however, again became interested in wheat farming between 1997 and 2000.
   A total of 6,500 hectares of land was brought under wheat cultivation in the year 1997. Last year, 4,500 hectares of land was cultivated.
   As the atmosphere was favourable, there was bumper production of wheat. But they did not get fair price for their produce, some regretted.
   It was alleged that the department concerned failed to supply quality seeds adequately to the farmers.
   The local markets in the all six upazilas in the district were flooded by poor quality smuggled Indian seeds.
   The seeds were also sold by some quarters in the black market at a price much higher than that fixed by the government.
   Our Sirajganj correspondent adds: The DAE’s wheat cultivation programme is likely to miss target in Sirajganj mainly due to scarcity of seeds.
   Sources in the district DAE office said some 10,000 hectares of land was brought under wheat cultivation in the nine upazilas of the north-western district during the current rabi season with the production target set at 22,500 tonnes.
   Soil in the district, the officials said, was conducive to wheat cultivation, which prompted the department of being hopeful about reaching the target.
   The upazila-wise break-up of the land for wheat production was: 2,000 hectares of land with a production target of 4,500 tonnes in Sadar upazila, 2,000 hectares with a target of 45,000 tonnes in Kazipur, 500 hectares with a target of 1,125 tonnes in Raiganj, 1,000 hectares with a target of 2,250 tonnes in Tarash, 2,000 hectares with a target of 4,500 tonnes in Ullapara, 700 hectares with a target of 1,575 tonnes in Shahzadpur, 500 hectares with a target of 1,225 tonnes in Belkuchi, 500 hectares with a target of 1,125 tonnes in Kamarkhand and 800 hectares with a target of 1,800 tonnes in Chauhali.
   Cultivation of wheat has decreased noticeably in different areas of the district in comparison to the production volumes of yesteryears.
   The DAE, too, has curtailed the land areas of cultivation by 1,500 hectares.
   Some farmers of Ullapara said acute scarcity of wheat seed has forced many to switch over to the cultivation of paddy and other rabi crops.
   The Bangladesh Agriculture Development Corporation has the capability of meeting only 5 per cent demand of the farmers for seed while the farmers have to manage the remaining 95 per cent seeds of their own.
   Normally, quality seeds are not available in the market.
   But the usual prices of quality seeds go unusually high and even beyond the farmers’ capacity whenever those become available in the market.
   The farmers, poverty and flood-stricken, in most cases, remain under compulsion to collect quality seeds by taking loans from the local money-lenders with high interest rate.
   Though the normal price of average quality wheat seed is Tk 15 per kilogram, it is often sold between Tk 40 and Tk 50 in the local markets.
   Hence, the low yield from the use of costly seed is causing frustration among the majority of the wheat-growers in the district.
   When quality seed is used, per hectare wheat production weighs little over two tonnes. But the production reaches almost half if lower quality wheat seed is used.
   Many farmers, against the backdrop, are reportedly turning away from wheat cultivation, locals said.

The bus owners of Comilla have enhanced the bus fares on each route on the plea of price hike of fuel ignoring the fare chart of the government.
   The Comilla Paribahan Owners’ Association has increased the bus fare unilaterally on all the 40 routes in and outside the district.
   This has been leading to hot exchange of words and sometimes scuffles between the passengers and bus conductors here and there almost everyday.
   According to restructured fares fixed by the government, large and heavy buses will charge 72 paisa per kilometre in place of 62 paisa and mini buses 75 paisa in place of 65 paisa.
   The bus fare from Dhaka to Comilla comes to little over Tk 69 on the basis of the government chart.
   But the owners of different bus companies have been realising bus fares at much enhanced rates on different routes than those fixed by the government.
   The passengers unwilling to give bus fare more than that fixed by the government are being harassed and humiliated by the bus conductors.
   ‘There seems to be no administration to ensure the fare chart fixed by the government and save the passengers from intimidation,’ said an irate passenger Abdul Halim of Comilla town.
   A representative of the bus owners association said increase in the prices of spares, fuel and other materials compelled them to increase the bus fare.
   More than 50 per cent buses plying on different routes have no fitness certificate.
   The owners have pressed defective buses into service by using false documents and bribing the concerned people. Moreover, overloading of buses is a common sight on Comilla-Sandpur, Comilla-Noakhali, Comilla-Laksam, Comilla-Chowddagram, Comilla-Barua and Comilla-Sonaimuri routes.
   The traffic police turn a blind eye to the plying of overloaded buses because of what is said their nexus with the bus owners.

Nearly 4,000 shallow and deep tube wells have become inoperative in Rangpur region making the fulfilment of the target of boro production uncertain.
   These tube wells are now out of operation following damage or pilferage of their parts.
   Only 300 deep tube wells out of total 1,499 are now in operation in eight upazilas of Rangpur. The remaining 1,199 deep tube wells were either damaged or stolen.
   Most of the shallow and deep tube wells in Gaibanda, Nilphamari, Kurigram and Lalmonirhat have gone out of order.
   Despite repeated reminders to the concerned authorities no steps have been taken to repair the damaged tube wells and recover the damaged ones.
   The local BADC officials said they could not take any measure to repair the damaged tube wells as they are out of their direct supervision for a long time.
   The BADC supplied these to different organisations to install them in different districts with the responsibility for their maintenance, they added.
   A total of 10,3100 hectares of land have been brought under boro cultivation this year with the production target of 35,0374 tonnes. But most of the farmers have expressed their apprehension that the production target might not be achieved this time as it would not be possible to supply water to irrigate many hectares of land because of pilferage and damage of a large number of tube wells.
   The affected farmers have urged the concerned department to take steps for the repair of the damaged tube wells and recovery of stolen ones.
   They also emphasised the need for supplying new tube wells for the irrigation of lands.

A section of traders have been illegally running the business of banned note books in different markets of Nilphamari over the years.
   All the book stalls are flooded with this kind of books of different classes including class one to class eight which were banned by the government a few years back.
   A good number of book stalls are openly selling note books at different markets in sadar, Saidpur, Domar, Dimla, Jaldhaka and Kishoreganj upazilas.
   A section of notebook publishers in collaboration with some bookshop owners and school authorities are introducing the low quality notebooks to the students.
   Representatives of different publishing companies are influencing headmasters of different schools or the Upazila Teachers’ Associations in exchange of so-called donation, according to many students and their guardians. The students are forced to buy these substandard books which are full of errors. It is alleged that the students get less mark in examinations if they do not buy and follow the books ‘prescribed.’
   For selling note books or guide books, the publishing companies give the book shop owners commissions and presentations.

A farmer of sadar upazila in Pabna at last achieved success in cultivating cumin seeds, for the first time in the country, much to the surprise of the agriculture officials.
   Mokbul Hossain Monju, a farmer of Gayespur village, said he began cultivating cumin seeds experimentally from the year 1999 on his yard but he achieved success after four years.
   He said he has cultivated in 1.5 bighas of land this year and it is now possible to produce 4-5 maunds of cumin in each bigha of land.
   He hoped that he would be able to earn Tk 20,000 to Tk 22,000 net profits from each bigha of land this year.
   The taste and smell of the locally produced cumin are much better than the imported one, he added. Cumin is locally known as jeera and used as a spice in the country.

Bumper production of potato is likely to be achieved in Chuadanga during the current reason.
   The Department of the Agriculture Extension sources said as per estimation of the concerned department a total of 23,200 tonnes of potato will be produced this year.
   A total of 1,860 hectares of land have been brought under potato cultivation in sadar, Damurhuda, Alamdanga and Jibannagar upazilas current season as against the 2,000 hectares.
   According to the sources, of the total, 3,750 tonnes of potato will be produced in sadar upazila, 6,750 tonnes in Alamdanga, 9,800 tonnes in Damurhuda and 2,950 tonnes in Jibannagar upazila.

The closure about 400 satellite schools at different places of Rangpur region has rendered 800 teachers unemployed.
   With the financial assistance from several donor countries nearly 4,000 satellite schools were set up across the country in the year 1988-89 to enable the children poor families to have access to elementary education.
   Of them, 400 satellite schools were established in Rangpur region.
   On an average 30 students in class one and two were enrolled in each satellite school.
   Two teachers were appointed in each school with a salary of Tk 500. Many teachers got appointment by spending Tk 10 to 15 thousand each in the hope that their post would be made permanent and their salary would be enhanced further.
   After losing job many teachers have been living a miserable life.
   The establishment of satellite schools not only provided employment to a large number of educated youths but also increased the enrolment of students in primary schools.

A second spell of cold wave is sweeping over the country’s north and north-eastern regions on Thursday and Friday with the minimum temperature falling down to average 10 degree Celsius at most places.
   The Met Office recorded the country’s lowest temperatures at 7 degree Celsius and 8.5 degree Celsius at Srimangal on the last two days, officials said.
   Besides, they said, Rangpur experienced 8.8 degree, Dinajpur 8.4 degree, Saidpur 9 degree, Bogra 10.4 degree, Rajshahi 9.8 degree and Ishwardi 11.4 degree Celsius Friday morning.
   The minimum temperatures were 9.3 degree Celsius in Rangpur, 8.6 degree in Dinajpur, 9.2 degree in Saidpur, 10.3 degree in Bogra, 8.9 degree in Rajshahi and 8.6 degree in Ishwardi the same morning.
   The sky remained cloudy with fog partially covering the regions in the morning. The situation marked a little improvement after 10:00am but started deteriorating from the afternoon. The officials said the situation may worsen in the next few days.