Bangladesh is to deploy 40,000 troops to distribute free rice to five million impoverished people, a government minister said yesterday. The two-month “Vulnerable Group Feeding Programme” will run from Sept. 25 and troops will hand out 105,000 tonnes of rice, said Asadul Habib Dulu, deputy minister for Food, Relief and Disaster Management.

“Some 40,000 army soldiers have been deployed to ensure smooth distribution of the rice, at 10 kg (22 lb) per family each month,” he told Reuters. Bangladesh would also launch another programme from Oct. 1 to sell 45,000 tonnes of rice at 4.5 taka (about 7 US cents) per kg among people “who can afford to pay some price to buy food,” he said.

Simultaneously, under a third programme, the government plans to sell 300,000 tonnes rice from its own stocks at 14.5 taka per kg under “open market sale”, the minister said. The minister said the schemes were intended to help people – including the destitute and the relatively better off – to buy foodgrains free of cost or at affordable price until the next harvest two months away.

“Bangladesh traditionally suffers food shortage during this buffer period when rice is made available to people from the government stocks,” said a food ministry official. People found it harder this year to buy rice and wheat the two main staples for 140 million Bangladeshis – as prices soared by up to 30 percent, due largely to the aftermath of last year’s devastating floods, officials said.

The floods in July-September 2004 killed over 1,000 people, made about 10 million homeless, washed away 70,000 tonnes of grains and caused damage to infrastructure worth over $2 billion, according to official estimates.

The impoverished country has recently increased fuel prices by nearly 17 percent, which traders say will push up transport fares and commodity prices. Free food distribution is often hampered by crooked officials, hence making the army’s help essential.