Staff Reporter :
A survey carried out by Voice of America (VOA) revealed that the majority of citizens believe that the interim government of Bangladesh is either faring worse than the previous Awami League government in keeping inflation under control or that the situation remains the same.
The survey, involving 1,000 participants aged 18 and above from eight divisions across the country, revealed that 44.7% of respondents believe the government has performed poorly in controlling the prices of essential commodities such as rice, fish, vegetables, eggs, meat and oil.
Among the people polled, 23.8% believe the current government is performing better than the previous one. Around one-third of the participants-30.8%-feel that the situation has remained unchanged.
A gender disparity was noted in the survey regarding opinions. While 31.3% of males felt the interim government was doing better than the previous government, only 16.3% of females shared this view.
A total of 41.2% of females believed the situation had remained the same, compared to just 20.3% of male respondents.
The survey sample was representative of Bangladesh’s demographics, with equal numbers of male and female respondents. Besides, 92.7% of the participants identified as Muslim. Over 50% of the participants were aged under 34, and nearly a quarter lived in urban areas.
Hiren Pandit, a resident of Mirpur and program coordinator at a private organization in Dhaka, had been living comfortably with his four family members. But, the year 2024 has brought severe financial hardship.
“We are in a suffocating situation due to the rising prices of goods,” Pandit told VoA, adding, “Rent has increased, the prices of everyday items have soared, and things that used to cost Tk140 have risen by Tk30.”
Inflation stood at 9.72% in June 2024, rising to 10.87% by October. This period has witnessed political turmoil in the government.
