Oil price hike

Oil price hike round the world is looming large threatening industrial growth and economic development, especially in the developing countries. Last week international market experienced a surge in oil price leading up to 135$ per barrel which is nearly 90% increase compared with the prices in July last year when it was 72$ per barrel.
In Bangladesh our govt. imports 38 lakh metric tones of crude oil per annum expending Tk 17,000 crore and BAPEX suffers a huge loss of around Tk 8,000 crore as the govt. keeps the prices low for domestic use of petroleum compared with the international market.
We must avoid the dependency on petroleum and search for alternative fuel sources. In addition to the traditional energy resources like gas, coal, biogas, solar energy etc. we should now think of nuclear power plant which IAEA has recently approved. Similarly, for a large population's transport facilities the expansion of railway network is a demand of time. Railway transportation can remove pressure on thousands of motor vehicles.
Again harvesting fuel crops without hampering the production of food crops can be a good alternative and thus ensure a good utilisation of our arable land. Agriculture researchers can do a lot in specifying well planned bio-fuel cultivation seasons which will not affect food production.
To sum up, we must make proper use of our energy resources and avoid uncalled for wastage of the same. The policy makers must think of solutions in the context of Bangladesh's economic condition and future development.