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Thursday | 16 January 2025 | Epaper

Price control of commodity products is crucial to comfort people

Published : Tuesday, 15 October, 2024 at 12:00 AM  Count : 955
MIR MOSHARREF HOSSAIN PAKBIR
Bangladesh witnessed a monumental shift in its political landscape with the protest against inequality in July-August 2024. The upheaval, which saw the ousting of the Awami League government, was driven by widespread discontent over rising prices, economic mismanagement, corruption and governance failures. At the core of the revolution was a collective demand for reform - a change that would address the everyday struggles of the people, particularly in terms of the skyrocketing prices of essential commodities. Now, as the interim government, led by Nobel laureate and global icon Dr. Muhammad Yunus, steps in, to solidify the trust that the people have placed in this new leadership, they must act to provide the people at least some comfort by controlling the price of essential goods.

According to the global report, jointly published by Ireland-based Concern Worldwide and Germany-based Welthungerhilfe, Bangladesh's position in the Global Hunger Index (GHI) has fallen by three points this year. Bangladesh scored 19.4, standing in 84th place among 127 countries ranked by the index. The level of hunger has been classified as 'moderate'. The World Food Programme (WFP) estimates that 24 per cent of the country's population and 46 per cent of impoverished households face food insecurity. This food insecurity is linked to the increasing unemployment, declining purchasing power and stretching inflation.

The previous government faced increasing criticism over its handling of the economy, widespread corruption, and failure to address rising inequalities. Essential commodities including all utilities became increasingly unaffordable for a large section of the population, triggering social inequality and hence unrest at a point. Hence, it is critical for the interim government of Bangladesh to take swift and decisive action to control the prices of commodities, outlining the social, economic, and political ramifications of such measures. 
Commodity prices-especially those of essential goods like different types of food products, utilities, and even healthcare-had reached unprecedented levels. Families are forced to cut down on food and medical expenses, exacerbating poverty and social discontent. Moreover, hunger is not only a humanitarian issue but also a political one, as food insecurity can lead to further instability and dissatisfaction with the government.

It has become a luxury for ordinary citizens to opt for protein sources like; meat or egg for a long time. Now, even the vegetables are becoming luxury item. The vendors are blaming the recent floods for the price hike of the vegetables. But the truth is, there are plenty of vegetables available in the market. If there was significant production disruption due to floods, then there should be scarcity of products. But while there is no scarcity in the market, the price is abnormally increasing. It is an evil act of corrupt syndicates, which took charge replacing the old ones. 

The corrupt syndicates made the lives of the people a living hell by increasing the prices of the commodity products during the tenure of the past government utilizing the government's corrupt patronization. Now, if new groups or syndicates take that place and keep continuing the same corruptions, at one point people might find their participation in revolution useless and will lose trust on the interim government as well as may not respond to the country's call in the future.

Another truth of today's Bangladesh is even if the price of commodity products decline, a large part of the populace will not be able to afford to buy food due to unemployment or no income. Hence, it is important that employments are generated quickly to increase the purchasing power of the people. If we cannot ensure income for the whole populace, hunger cannot be abolished from our country and inequality will continue to rise. The interim government needs to understand the desire of the people and keeping everything aside, they must remove inequality, establish rule of law, ensure food security and protect all basic rights of the people.

By controlling commodity prices, the government can send a clear message that the government is not only aware of the struggles of its citizens but is also committed to addressing them. The interim government has received unprecedented support from all political parties in their mission. They must utilize this unity among these political parties to the fullest to bring the required changes. They can seek the support of these political forces in controlling the market as well as on other people's issues. Notably, the interim government must acknowledge the fact that, they do not have any root level organizational power like different political parties. Hence, they need to utilize different tools to control the market as the consumer associations have critically failed in this mission.

The interim government can provide subsidies on essential goods such as rice, cooking oil, and fuel to make them more affordable for the general population while also preventing market fluctuations from driving up prices. The government can also consider direct price controls on certain essential commodities. The interim government must also invest in agricultural infrastructure, provide support to farmers, and promote the use of modern farming techniques to boost food production. The interim government must also take steps to ensure that supply chains for essential goods remain intact, even in the face of political and economic challenges.

Moreover, the interim government needs to introduce a relief system for the lower-income families, especially at the rural areas, which were impacted by different natural disasters in the recent times. Additionally, they need to introduce ration card system for the lower and middle-income households throughout the nation. They can also launch different work for food programs nationwide immediately to ensure food security as well as to eliminate unemployment. The interim government should involve the armed forces in implementation of all these programs as they have proved on different occasions that they are on the people's side and people believe that, only the army can work in fully uncorrupt ways.

Considering the current context, only the armed forces can control the market. The army, navy and air forces can play a crucial role, like they have played in the people's revolution, in eliminating the syndicates as they have people's support as well as an established identity in protecting the rule of law. As the army chief General Waker-Uz-Zaman has expressed his full support to the interim government and the interim government has also issued magistracy power to all armed forces, Dr. Muhammad Yunus can ask for their support in destroying in the market syndicates. If the army is assigned this mission, hopefully we will find good results in the shortest possible of time.
Furthermore, the law-and-order situation has deteriorated heavily in the post-revolution period as goons of different political parties as well as the miscreants are acting freely without any control. Crimes like; extortion, loot, mob attack, murder has increased heavily. Crimes like extortions - both organized and unorganized - are also making the market instable. Hence, the army can come out as a solution to fight these crimes effectively. Hence, they need to be empowered more immediately to act against these criminals in an unbiased way irrespective of their political identity. Additionally, it is also very important that the political parties have no wings lower than the thana-levels as these lower level wings like; ward, union or unit etc. are basic sources of different crimes.

The people have raised their voice for a comprehensive reform. The interim government must complete this reform before announcing the national elections. But to establish democratic practices and control throughout the nation, they should conduct the local government elections first and soon. The interim government needs to show the changes in the local government elections portraying the reform in the attitude. The game of power, money, political identity and muscle must be eliminated. Even a socially acclaimed ordinary person should be able to participate in those elections and the people should also be able to vote freely without any pressure. These elections should be contested by honest and capable candidates without the banner of any political party. These elections can be conducted in parts but the process should start soon. The local government representatives can strengthen people's trust as well as the interim government will be able to control the nationwide challenges much more effectively. 

At the heart of the revolution was a demand for dignity. By controlling prices, the government can help reduce inequality and ensure that all citizens have access to basic goods. We hope, the interim government will understand the vibe of the people, at which the previous government failed critically. We believe, our interim government consists of adequate qualified personnel to realize this critical issue and will act soon to control the market of the commodity products with spontaneous, efficient and effective policies and action to provide minimum comfort to the citizens of this country.

The writer is Chief Editor at Mohammadi News Agency (MNA) and Editor at Kishore Bangla



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