DHAKA, Jan. 6 (Xinhua) – After abnormal price-hike of rice last week that triggered panic among the low and middle-income people in Bangladesh, the price started sliding down on Sunday after the military-backed government intervention.

With continuous flow of rice from neighboring India, wholesale price came down to 26.50 taka (about 0.39 U.S. dollar) per kg at southwestern Benapole land port Sunday from 32 taka on Friday. Around 450 tons of Indian rice have been imported.

Major Ali Reza Khan, commander of Benapole Port Monitoring Cell, is supervising round the clock quick delivery of rice from the port.

Rice traders said active supervision of the joint forces greatly contributed to the decline in price. They expressed hope that rice price will come down further.

Meanwhile, the incumbent caretaker government headed by Chief Advisor Dr Fakhruddin Ahmed Sunday decided to sell 45,000 tons of rice at 25 taka per kg throughout January through countrywide rationing.

Bangladesh is facing acute food deficit following the production loss caused by twice monsoon flooding and devastating cyclone “Sidr” last year that battered the country’s southern coastal region.

Besides, according to local media, illegal hoarding by millers and wholesalers also caused sharp rice price hike.

The government will deploy 1,990 dealers and paramilitary Bangladesh Rifles personnel to sell out the rice through Open Market Sale in January.

Also, food-grains will be supplied to another 570,000 families under Vulnerable Group Feeding (VGF) program over the next five months in various poverty-prone parts of the country.

Earlier, the government allocated VGF cards for 2.6 million families in the cyclone-hit region to get the rice free of cost.

A weekly meeting of the Council of Advisers with Chief Adviser Dr Fakhruddin Ahmed in the chair Sunday reaffirmed immediate import of one million tons of rice by government to cool down the market and build a comfortable stock of food.

In the last few days the government held meetings with officials of the World Food Program and envoys of India, Thailand and Vietnam to discuss the importation of the required quantum of rice.

The government is negotiating with India to import 500,000 tons of coarse variety of rice and 100,000 tons from Thailand.

About 350,000 tons of food-grains have already been imported while steps for importing the rest 650,000 tons have been facilitated, an official of the Food Ministry said.

The official said besides, the import of food-grains from abroad through private channels is continuing.