Low-income people at Amtali struggling to breathe as cost of living goes beyond reach 

AMTALI, BARGUNA, Oct 23: The lives of low-income working people have now become miserable.
Md Mohi Uddin, 35, a resident of Amtali Municipality in Barguna, drives a rickshaw in the town. He earns an average of Tk 8,000 to Tk 10,000 a month. He lives with his wife and two children in a rented house in the town area. In the present market situation, he is passing through a hard life.

Not only Mohi Uddin, but the lives of people with fixed and low incomes have been thrown into turmoil due to the soaring prices of commodities and the rising cost of living. They are struggling to arrange the necessities for survival. Commodity prices are rising by leaps and bounds. House rents in the town are also increasing. Yet the victims allege that there are no effective initiatives to control these expenses.

Along with this, transport fares, rickshaw fares, education and medical expenses have increased. As a result, people with limited and fixed incomes have fallen into extreme distress. The shock of extra expenses is also coming from landlords, vegetable sellers, shopkeepers and rickshaw pullers. Public life has become unsettled in every direction.

Those concerned believe that the repeated increases in the prices of fuel oil, gas and electricity on the pretext of reducing subsidies on oil and gas have intensified the hardship prevailing in people's lives. Ordinary people cannot keep pace with the soaring prices of commodities. Along with this, social unrest is also growing alongside hardship and want.

After talking with people of limited income, it was known that the prices of almost all daily necessities, including vegetables, fish, meat, rice and oil, have increased, so the family wheel is not turning properly. Not only people of limited income, but the big shock of soaring commodity prices has also hit the lives of day-labourers, the lower-income group, the middle class and even the upper class.

Good-quality rice in the market costs Tk 60 to Tk 90 per kilogramme. Coarse rice is not available for less than Tk 50. OMS rice is also insufficient. Even a short while ago, people could eat rice twice a day with eggs and mashed potatoes, but now the price of eggs is also going beyond the reach of low-income people. Buyers think vegetables too are becoming food for the middle and upper classes.

Vegetable prices have reached such a level that low-income buyers struggle to afford the cost. In the market, even relatively cheap vegetables like jhinga and sweet pumpkin cost Tk 50 per kilogramme. Other vegetables are not available for less than Tk 80 to Tk 100. 

Maruf Hossain works at a private organisation in the town. The salary he had half a decade ago was enough to run a family of four quite well. Now, although his salary has increased, he cannot manage as before.

Speaking about the market situation, Maruf said, "Even though I was the eldest son of the family, I did not have much connection with the market before. Now I have to manage my own family. So I am seeing the market situation myself. The prices of rice, vegetables, fish, meat and eggs vary constantly."

Zakia, a housewife in the town, said that the salary her husband received six years ago has now increased by 15 per cent. Earlier, after meeting the month's expenses, they could save some money. Now that is not possible. Rather, they face hardship every month.

Zakia further said, the prices of all the necessities of life and of goods that uphold social dignity have increased. Along with this, doctors' fees have increased. Earlier, it cost Tk 300 to Tk 500 to show the children to a doctor, but now it has risen to Tk 700 to Tk 1,000. The price of baby food has also increased several times over. To balance household expenses, she has reduced buying fish and meat.

An assistant teacher of a government primary school in the town, who did not wish to be named, said that she has completed 16 years of service. Even with her own salary and her husband's income, their family is facing hardship in running the household. Expenses for their daughters' education, house rent, consumer goods and transport, along with all other costs, are rising steadily.

Sajib Ahmed, a journalist in Amtali, said that running a household of eight people, including his wife, mother, brother and sister-in-law, has become difficult.

According to them, if this situation persists for long, the suffering of low- and middle-income people will increase further. Therefore, it is essential above all to take effective initiatives to control commodity prices and the cost of living.