Low-income people pay twice as rent compared with middle-class

Staff Reporter :
A low-income people has to pay Tk 4,000 for 100 square feet house as rent, while a middle income citizen pays Tk 30,000 for a 1500 square feet house. It means that a person of low-income group of people pays twice of a middle income group, say speakers at a discussion.
The speakers said this at the discussion titled ‘Housing and civic amenities of low-income people: ‘Prekkhit Dhaka’ jointly organized by the Center for Urban Studies, World Vision Bangladesh, UN-Habitat and the project for improving the quality of life of marginalized people-Dhaka North City Corporation (DNCC) at a city hotel on Wednesday.
The spike in the prices of essential items and other costs, they added, has eaten up much of low-income group’s purchasing capacity, shattering all hopes of a happy life.
According to the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics, one-fifth of the nearly 17 crore population are poor in Bangladesh, but private research organisations say the number of poor people has increased after the corona pandemic situation.
Apart from this, the rise in the cost of living, fueled by higher commodity prices amid the Russia-Ukraine war, has dashed lower income people’s recovery hope.
Now many people are surviving only on their savings.
Meanwhile, Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina has already urged the people to be economical considering the volatile global economic condition.
The World Bank has already taken initiatives fearing possible famine in 2023 and to help the poor countries to ensure food security.
The spike in the prices of key food items and other costs has eaten up much of their purchasing capacity, made their life harder and shattered their hopes to have a better life.
Low-income people gathered in Dhaka in search of work, the speakers said, adding that their housing facilities are not much.
“Especially in the slums, the standards required for housing are absence in shanties. But low income people are contributing a big chunk in the national economy,” they said. They also suggested that initiatives should have to be taken to reduce the flow of people from entering in Dhaka and the government has to increase the quality of communication and service in the district towns too.
The low-income people who participated in the discussion said that they have contribution in Dhaka’s economy though they live in slums.
They have also demanded to the authority concerned for playgrounds and open spaces. “We want to know and clarify the matter how our housing problem will be solved,” the slum people said.
Among others, Tajul Islam, Minister of Local Government Ministry, DNCC Mayor Md Atiqul Islam, city planner of Capital Development Agency (Rajuk) Ashraful Islam and related others were also spoke on the occasion.
When many of them had hoped to make a turnaround as economic activities picked up from the coronavirus pandemic-induced economic slowdown and on and off lockdowns, which destroyed much of lower income people’s income opportunities.
Many lower income people said that they are in difficulties to bear the family expenses amid the surging prices of essentials. Even many have to cut their costs on daily groceries to strike a balance between the expenses and their income. Shukur Ali works as a security guard at a house in Mirpur for a monthly salary of Tk 10,000. He has to spend Tk 4,000 as house rent for his four-member family. He is unable to bear his family now and cannot send money to his ailing mother who lived at village home in Barishal. Md Siddique, a street vendor in Motijheel said, before the latest price shock, he used to spend around Tk 5,000 per month to buy rice, fish, eggs, vegetables, meat and other basic items.
Prices of rice, flour, pulses, oil, fish, meat, vegetables, soap and milk rose by 12 per cent in February, according to a report of the Consumers Association of Bangladesh.
The prices of essentials, including flour, edible oil, sugar, red lentil, eggs and onions, have gone up by 10 to 40 per cent in the past one year, data from state-run Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB) showed.