Residents in several areas of Dhaka are facing hours-long queues to purchase subsidized rice and flour from the Department of Food's Open Market Sale (OMS) trucks. The scene was witnessed in the Mohammadpur and Adabor areas on Wednesday.
Two Elderly Women Wait Two Hours
Two friends, both named Fatema Begum, stood in line at an OMS truck beside Dhaka Residential Model College in Mohammadpur on Wednesday morning. One is 80 years old, the other 74.
Both reside in adjacent houses on the same lane in the city's Bihari Camp area. They had to wait nearly two hours to buy the commodities.
A Prothom Alo correspondent visited the spot around 12:00 pm and observed that a queue of over a hundred people had formed within minutes of the truck's arrival at around 10:00 am. The two Fatemas were among those waiting for a long time in the crowd.
Rickshaw Puller's Two-and-a-Half-Hour Wait
In the Adabor area, rickshaw puller Masudur Rahman (57) waited about two and a half hours behind an OMS truck in front of the King Faisal Institute on Wednesday morning to buy rice and flour. "The number of trips for pedal rickshaws has decreased. Even after driving all day, I earn no more than 300-400 taka," he said.
Rahman stated that his income from the pedal rickshaw is insufficient to run his household properly. He therefore buys commodities from OMS trucks at least twice a week.
About the OMS Program
The Department of Food sells rice and flour at government-fixed subsidized rates through its Open Market Sale (OMS) trucks. Low-income people crowd these trucks daily to avail the benefit. However, due to limited supply, many are forced to wait for long periods, and some return empty-handed.
