Food Friendly Program (FFP) and sale of rice at Tk30 per kg under the open market sale (OMS) for low-income people began across the country on Thursday.

“The government has started Food Friendly Programme (FFP) and open market sale of rice from Thursday as per the directives of the Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina,” said an official of the food ministry.

The government has increased the number of OMS dealers three times for mitigating public sufferings and the number of OMS centres has also been raised to 2,363 from 813.

According to officials, at each OMS centre, Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB) cardholders will get 5 kg of rice twice a month at a price of Tk30 per kg while common people who do not have TCB card will be given the same amount of rice against NID card.

Under the FFP, over 50 lakh families across the country will get 30 kg of rice per month at a price of Tk15 per kg.

The FFP or “Khaddo Bandhob Karmasuchi” and the OMS will continue alongside selling rice and flour among TCB cardholders at fair prices.

Rice will be sold openly in 50 trucks in Dhaka city and under the programme, 2 metric tons of rice per truck will be sold daily under OMS.

As part of the nationwide drive, the Naogaon district administration started sale in the morning.

Khalid Mehedi Hasan, deputy commissioner of Naogaon, officially inaugurated the program at Muktir Mor area of the city around 9:30am.

District Food Controller Alamgir Kabir said 72 metric tons of rice will be sold through 36 dealers at the price of Tk30 per kg.

Besides, a total of 119,038 people of 99 unions of the district will get 30 kg of rice per month at a price of Tk15 per under the food-friendly program.