The Trading Corporation of Bangladesh has prepared 57 lakh smart family cards for beneficiaries after verifying information as per their national identity card to check duplication in distribution of goods.
Earlier, the TCB issued one crore family cards across the country. Of those, 57 lakh cards so far have been updated, but 43 lakh cards are yet to be verified by local administrations, said joint director and spokesperson of the TCB Md Humayun Kabir on Monday.
He told BSS that updated information was needed to reduce duplication of the family card beneficiaries of the same families.
Kabir explained that when one crore handwritten cards were integrated with NID, it was found that some individuals used the same NID to acquire a card in Dhaka and another card in their hometown.
As a result, 4.3 million cards were excluded during the verification process.
He also mentioned that among the one crore family cards, multiple members from the same family were receiving goods.
He also announced that the TCB would sell five essential commodities at affordable prices in Dhaka and four commodities in areas outside the capital during the upcoming holy month of Ramadan.
The TCB has completed all necessary preparations to this end, Humayun assured, adding that there would be no shortage of commodities during Ramadan.
Edible oil, lentils and sugar are sold round the year on trucks, he said, adding additionally, chickpeas and dates would be sold in Dhaka during Ramadan. Outside of the capital city, chickpeas will be added to the list of three other commodities.
Mentioning that tender bids for the procurement of these commodities have been finalised, he said that commodities would be sold through smart family cards from January 2025.
Regarding allegations of irregularities against dealers, he said that the issue was being scrutinised and registration of new dealers was currently suspended as an official announcement was yet to come.
New dealers will be recruited through advertisement in media and TCB website, he added.
He mentioned that TCB鈥檚 monitoring process had been hindered due to the political and government changeover, adding, efforts were underway to resolve these issues.
