Krishak Bandhu Postal Service to deliver agro products to Dhaka for free

A platform called "Food for Nation" has been set up under the “Innovation Design and Entrepreneurship Academy (iDEA) project”.

The platform run by the Bangladesh Computer Council (BCC) under the ICT Division is using information technology, aiming to collect and supply farmers’ agricultural products from one end of the country to the other at a fair price.

To serve the platform's purpose, on Saturday Minister for Posts and Telecommunications Mustafa Jabbar inaugurated 'Krishak Bandhu Postal Service' to deliver agricultural products to Dhaka city free of cost amid the lockdown situation triggered by coronavirus.

Through video conferencing from his official residence on Bailey Road in Dhaka, he inaugurated the initiative at Jhitka Bazar in Harirampur Upazila of Manikganj.

A number of IT-based startup organisations are connected to this platform of iDEA project.

From the very beginning of this activity, many organisations are working including Chaldal, Truck Lagbe, Digital Arotdar.

As part of the ongoing activity, “Digital Arotdar” aims to ensure fair prices for farmers.

On Saturday, it purchased agro-products directly from them from Shaperchan village under Harirampur Upazila of Manikganj and supplied those to the country's online marketing shop Chaldal and supershop Minabazar.

As a result of such purchase, farmers are getting prices of Dhaka in croplands and this is saving their labour hours, transportation cost, and at the same time, they are very happy as there is no middleman race.

The Posts and Telecommunication Division provides transportation service for "Digital Arotdar” free of cost. This facilitates delivering farmers’ crops directly from fields to buyers.

Speaking on the occasion, the minister said that the posts division would continue to provide this transportation service during the corona period.

Mr Jabbar said that Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has given special importance to the agricultural sector to keep our agricultural production active and vibrant.

The government realises that farmers are most at risk with their productsdue to the stoppage of traffic in the lockdown, he said. “We are trying to stay by the side of the marginal farmers by delivering their products to the capital Dhaka free of cost.”

Secretary of the Posts and Telecommunications Division Md. Nur-Ur-Rahman and Director-General of Postal Directorate of Bangladesh Post Office Sudhangshu Shekhar Bhadra also joined online, on the occasion.

Founder Nurun Nahar and cofounder Kamrul Ahsan of "Digital Arotdar" physically attended the event.

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