The New Nation - Internet Edition

Hearing that the gas supply to the entire southern part of Mega Dhaka would remain suspended for 48 hours from Saturday midnight, shopkeepers indiscriminately raised the price of kerosene and stove to the dismay of the city dwellers of those areas. A resident of South Goran said angrily that he had to pay taka 100 for one liter of kerosene, in place of actual price of taka 40 only while a lady resident of Demra said, she purchased a stove with as much as twice of the original price.

It means that the trading in Bangladesh really does not follow ethics and morality and the traders either at retail or at wholesale levels exploit the helplessness of consumers in order to make quick money. In truth, this is one kind of torture on people.

In simple words, these businessmen do not go by the basic rules of trading, not to say of ethical norms. What they do is totally guided by the greed of making quick money at all changes whenever or in whatever way that comes.

In this connection, the Titas Gas Authority too cannot evade their moral responsibilities. The authority concerned should have informed the consumers at much earlier dates and arranged substitute channels for supplying gas because they cannot hurl four million people in such odds overnights. They should now compensate the consumers of their extra expenditures and must not charge the bills for the month of February 2008.

In fine, we seek personal interference of the Special Assistant Power and Energy to the Chief Advisor.

Abdur Rashid

Sabujbagh, Dhaka