Business Desk :
As the country grapples with a severe crisis following the successful mass uprising led by the anti-discrimination student movement, the Consumers Association of Bangladesh (CAB) Chattogram and CAB Youth Group Chattogram have launched a market-based campaign to ensure essential commodity prices remain affordable.
The campaign also aims to curb profiteering and manipulation by unscrupulous businesses.
On 8 August 2024, leaders from CAB Chattogram and its youth wing conducted a campaign at the Bahaddarhat City Corporation Market, one of the largest markets for daily essentials in the city. They urged businesses to refrain from exploiting the situation by inflating prices and engaging in unethical practices.
Abu Hanif Noman, President of CAB Youth Group Chattogram Metropolitan, led the campaign. CAB Central Committee Vice President S M Nazrul Hossain, CAB Chattogram Metropolitan Joint Secretary Mohammad Selim Jahangir, CAB Chandgaon Thana President Mohammad Jane Alam, and other members, including Rasel Uddin, Tania Sultana, Emdadul Islam, and Nafisa Nabi, were also present.
During the campaign, the leaders expressed concern over the rising prices of essential goods and life-saving medicines, which they attributed to various pretexts by certain traders. They accused the government officials of remaining silent or even aligning with these traders in exchange for benefits, leaving ordinary citizens to suffer.
The leaders also highlighted how traders justify price hikes by citing increased operational costs, including extortion, higher prices from importers, and corporate entities, thereby squeezing consumers further.
They alleged that in many instances, traders obstructed market monitoring by the Directorate of National Consumer Rights Protection, leaving consumers vulnerable for the past 15 years. The previous government, they claimed, allowed certain privileged businessmen to control and manipulate the markets, resulting in widespread smuggling of resources abroad and the establishment of personal business empires.
The CAB leaders further criticized the lax enforcement of laws and the protection afforded to these traders by local administrations, which they believe has led to unchecked price increases in basic commodities such as rice, potatoes, green chilies, and onions since the last Eid-ul-Adha. They argued that despite repeated instructions from the Prime Minister to strengthen market monitoring, these directives were not effectively implemented, allowing traders to continue their exploitative practices.