Govt laxity to blame

Taking advantage of the government's laxity, dishonest traders are pocketing huge amounts of money by creating an artificial supply crisis, said speakers yesterday.

The government needs to take initiatives immediately to keep prices of daily essentials at a tolerable level during Ramadan, they added.

They made the remarks at a discussion on "Essentials' Price Hike, Public Sufferings and Solution", organised by Shushashoner Jonno Nagorik (Shujan) at the capital's Jatiya Press Club.

Mentioning that there is lack of coordination among relevant ministries and organisations, Consumers Association of Bangladesh Vice President SM Nazer Hossain said due to this, traders are getting opportunities to make extra profit.

The government has withdrawn VAT on edible oil, but it should look into whether consumers are getting the benefit, he added.

"The huge gap between production costs and retail prices shows that our markets are not consumer friendly, which is very unfortunate. The huge gap reflects unjust business policy," he said.

Saying that "government-patronised syndicates" were involved in price hikes, Nagorik Oikya Convener Mahmudur Rahman Manna said the government is mocking the hartal, which was observed by left-leaning parties to protest price hikes.

"Does this mean they do not want to reduce prices?" he said, adding that prices will not drop unless the government steps aside from power.

Communist Party of Bangladesh leader Kafi Ratan said due to extortion on the roads, which transport vehicles have to face, commodity prices shot up.

"Tomatoes that are sold at Tk 2 per kilo in Kurigram are sold at Tk 40 per kilo [in Dhaka]. How is that possible? Extortion on the roads is the major reason for the hike," he said.

Shujan Secretary Badiul Alam Majumdar said the government would be liable to the people, if it had to beg for votes after every five years. That scenario is only possible through fair and free elections.