The New Nation - Internet Edition

Sheikh Rakib Uddin

To live or to poll - to have bread or to go for ballot - the questions obviously cross the mind of the entire nation except some quarters who most probably close their eyes intending not to see the reality or are quiet ignorant of minimum knowledge required to realize what is happening ? Skyrocketed prices of essential commodities, atrocious priced menus in restaurants, exuberant high prices of life saving drugs and unthinkable higher fares of bus, rickshaw auto - rickshaw, launch and other river vehicles.

The untold hardships , never experienced in any time in the past, has not only hard hit the entire nation particularly the middle class but also has caused to continue unabated sufferings of masses The price hike which continued to increase from January in 2007 has been moving up towards sky in rocket speed and no body knows when it will halt. Suddenly increase of oil prices by about 40 percent in an executive order added fuel to the flame as it helped have further Long jump in price hike, transport fare and living costs of the people from all walks of life.

The situation, tragic and strange, is neither expected nor wanted. In the month of January in 2007 the rice was selling at Taka 17 per kilograms soybean at taka 52 per liter, Dal at taka 36 per kilograms, beef at taka 80 per kilograms, eggs taka 40 per dozen, white taka 14 per kilograms and potatoes at taka 9 per kilo. Now those items are settling in the markets at taka 37, 125, 190, and 22 per kilo.

Eggs are selling at Taka 80 per dozen. In such a prices of other essentials have been raised by more than 100 percent in last one and half a year. Prices of important items like milks, condensed milks, floor and floor products and spices have been increased in a rate even an abnormal position generally could hardly admit. The present situation is more strange to see that prices of those essentials are continuing to rise as no check and no resistance in their ways that has not only concerned but also has puzzled all. Even the situation has upset the demand and supply theory.

There is no dearth of supply of the essentials in the market but the price continues to go up .Nobody knows when it will end? Why such abnormally abnormal situation arises creating anarchy in economic sectors as markets of the essentials are now totally unmanageable and uncontrollable. Who are responsible for this unhappy and unwanted state of affairs ? A section of economists claiming themselves as the top experts on the subjects defended the price hike saying that prices of the essentials suddenly had gone up in the international markets.

Those experts have been branded by various quarters as the agents of certain international monetary agencies whose common agenda is to create flexible economic bases in the developing countries dependable on them. Syndicates, profiteers, black marketers , smugglers and other unscrupulous traders and anti social elements are blamed for the intolerable situation.

A particular quarter in defense of the high prices of the commodities claim natural calamities like cyclone, Sidr, Nargis and flood that hit the country had shattered the country's economy. The clear answer of the defense is that such natural phenomenon and exercise of the anti social elements are not new development in the society.

Anti social elements which began their motivated activities immediately after the society began its journey in the planet are continuing unabated. It is one of the duties of those circles enjoying state powers to restrict the enemies of the society. Despite presence of such odds and obstacles by and large in all times the country never experienced such holocaust in the economic sectors. Inefficient hands, unrealistic approaches and dearth of proper knowledge are responsible for the tragedy. This was stated by the experts, observers and political leaders in their speeches in seminars, symposium and discussions .

They made the comments that even the national budget for the current fiscal year utterly failed to give minimum relief to the common masses strongly hart hit by price hike .of the essential commodities.

Other financial measures so far undertaken by the present care taker government also went in vain in yielding in any fruitful results to mitigate the sufferings of the people .

The experts who monitor the developments closely had observed that irresponsible utterances from persons sitting on the citadel of powers had contributed largely to aggravating the situation. None now a days even dreamt of purchasing eight mounds rice paying taka one which a person had to pay to get same quantity of the item during the reign of Mughal Subedar Shahesta Khan in the middle of the seventeenth century in Bengal.

But at least the people now could expect from him to reduce price of rice to taka 17 per kilo which was prevailing in the second week of January in 2007. It is now an established fact the government will have to pay more attention to the economic affairs in this age of globalization than any time in the past.

The preparations are underway to hold the national and the local government elections in phases with a view to transferring powers to the people government. Above all, people's interest and benefits are supreme .Now the people cry for breads at a cheaper and fair price for survival, The delay will cause more hardships and problems .The situation will further deteriorate.