Noman Mosharef :
People from the middle and lower-middle-income groups are feeling overwhelmed as they face severe difficulties in maintaining their daily lives due to the skyrocketing prices of essential commodities.
The suffering of day laborers, whether in urban or rural areas, is similarly harsh.
Ratan Mia, a small tea shop owner from Tangail’s Alenga Bus Stand, shared his struggles: “People like us are not able to live a decent life.
The prices of daily essentials are now beyond our reach, making it incredibly hard to manage our basic needs,” he said.
Ratan Mia has five family members, including his elderly mother, who needs about Tk150 per day for her medications due to multiple illnesses. “I feel helpless,” he added.
“My limited income is not enough to cover our basic needs, and my mother’s medical expenses only add more pressure.”
Ratan Mia urged the government to take action to control the prices of daily commodities, as people in poverty are finding it nearly impossible to survive.
Ramzan Ali, a bus conductor for a VIP service, expressed similar frustration, saying that he earns Tk500 to Tk700 daily, which is insufficient to meet his family’s needs.
“There isn’t a single vegetable available for less than Tk100 in the market. After spending Tk 500, I can only buy one or two vegetable items. Buying fish, chicken, or meat is out of the question.”
In an effort to alleviate public suffering, the interim government has introduced some measures. On Wednesday, the adviser to the Ministry of Agriculture, Lt.
Gen. (retd) Md Jahangir Alam Chowdhury, stated during an event marking World Food Day 2024 that there will be no food supply shortages despite disruptions in some regions due to recent floods.
He acknowledged that agricultural production was affected in certain areas, which might reduce output and threaten food security. However, he assured that efforts are in place to ensure uninterrupted food production, and they expect no deficit in the overall food supply.
To ease the burden on citizens, the government announced on Thursday a reduction in import duty on eggs from 30 per cent to 13 per cent.
Additionally, the duty on edible oil has been cut by 5 per cent, and the value-added tax (VAT) on edible oil at both production and distribution levels has been withdrawn.
Earlier that day, the Bangladesh Vegetable Oil Refiners Association had proposed a 5 per cent reduction in import duty on soybean and palm oil, along with the removal of VAT at all stages, to stabilize the prices of edible oil in the market. Global prices for these oils have risen significantly in recent months, with crude soybean oil increasing by 14.8 per cent and RBD palm oil by 18.68 per cent.