The New Nation - Internet Edition

Staff Reporter

The Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) and the Rapid Action Batallion (RAB) will monitor the prices of essentials from today although such an initiative did not yield any positive result in the past. Rather, such a move created negative impacts on the market as panic gripped thousands of small traders across the country.

Yet the decision to monitor the prices once again was taken at a meeting with the representatives of wholesalers and retailers yesterday.

However, market analysts said such a move would create a deep sense of panic among the small traders as they should not be solely blamed for price hike of essentials. Rather, there are many players in the markets, including the importers who are believed to be responsible for manipulating the prices of essentials through the formation of syndicates.

At the meeting, a senior BDR official urged the retailers to keep their profit margin at a reasonable level saying that the BDR and the RAB would jointly monitor the market prices through intelligence.

"It is your responsibility to keep the prices of essentials under control," Col Mohammad Abdul Halim, BDR Director (Operations & Training), said at the meeting, with presidents and secretaries of wholesalers' and retailers' associations of Dhaka city, at the BDR Headquarters in the city.

He said BDR's main responsibility is to guard the country's border, but since it's a crisis time, BDR is looking after the price

situation.

Col Halim said BDR held meetings with businessmen and took

initiatives ahead of last Ramadan that helped stabilise the prices of essentials.

"I'm giving you a stern warning: do your business in your own way, but see that people get benefit," he said. "We all have same objective to keep market prices at tolerable level."

He also asked the retailers to hang lists of prices at their shops.

In response, president of Hatirpool kitchen market Enamul Huq suggested that the wholesalers should give vouchers in all cases against the commodities sold to keep a tab on the retail prices.

The BDR director said the voucher system was not stopped. "If one refuses to give voucher, inform BDR or RAB."

Another trader suggested the setting up of BDR camps at the wholesale markets to facilitate monitoring of prices. Col Halim said camps would not be needed for BDR to monitor the prices.