The New Nation - Internet Edition

A.T.M.Nurun Nabi

The Para-military Bangladesh Rifles' Fair Price Shop provides a great relief to people in view of price hike at DCC markets. However, people's rush at one of such shops situated at Shaymoli, Dhaka has decreased noticeably from the days before the Eid ul Fitr.

Most of the consumers being tired of price ramble at Dhaka City Corporation markets have chosen the far price shop as they earlier chose BDR run open markets in different parts of the city. But their anticipation soon began to hover from the BDR fair price shop as did in case of open markets.

Hosneara, housewife from Sheorapara, said, "The objective of BDR shop should be people oriented, and not profit making. We must not say that BDR will sell things lower than the purchasing cost. What we believe that the percentage of profit must be minimum so that people think it as their own."

Some members of the consumers claimed that they had been able to save a part of their income because of that shop. "The price of the majority items is comparatively cheaper than what is in the DCC markets. We use to buy our things from this shop almost everyday coming from a distance of two miles," said Sohel Haroun, a student and resident of North Shaymoli.

According to his statement; lower rate, freshness of items and well decoration of the shop drew him there.

However, price of some of essentials is as under:

Milk vita taka 36 per liter, dano milk powder 400 gram taka 180, coarse rice 23, miniket rice 29.40, BR-29 27.50, Badshahahbhog five kilos 316, pilau five kilos 293, green gram 68, lentil 65, gram, mash 64, onion 55, potato 21, papaw 12, garlic 62, beef taka 175, fowl local taka 250, fowl farm taka 150, sugar taka 32, mustard oil 150, coarse flour 35 and soyabean 82.

A consumer on condition of anonymity said, the improved quality of food items, particularly rice, edible oil, fish, meat and vegetables need to be preserved. If the quality of an item is poor, the very objective may suffer.