24 eminent citizens express concern over inflation

Twenty four eminent citizens of the country have expressed concern over inflation and hike in the prices of daily commodities, including eggs and potatoes.

They said the food prices have become unbearable. They also expected an effective measure from the government in this regard, said a press release on Monday.

“We note with deep concern that the overall inflation, including food prices, has become unbearable over the last one year. According to the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS), it increased by 12.54 per cent in August. The overall inflation was 9.9 per cent that month. The lower and middle class people are struggling to survive in this situation. Lack of protein in diet due rise in the prices of egg and meat may lead to nutritional complications in long run,” it said.

The statement further reads, “According to the government, the situation emerged due to the Russia-Ukraine war and the businesspersons say the problem intensified as a result of the dollar crunch. The war caused similar problems in several countries and most of these countries successfully brought the inflation to a tolerable level by implementing strict monetary policy, curbing expenses and taking stern measures in the markets. However, Bangladesh has not been able to contain the inflation as yet. In fact, the government is not being able to manage production and market. There are allegations of syndicates in the wholesale and retail level controlling the prices. The concerned authorities of the government are not being able to take any action against them and implementing the measures taken to control them.”

“Such a situation is not warranted under any circumstances. We sincerely hope that the government, with the assistance of the social force if needed, will take effective measures for a speedy transition from this intolerable situation, especially by bringing down the prices of daily commodities, including meat, lentil, onion, eggs and potatoes to end public sufferings,” the statement added.

The statement was signed by Sultana Kamal, Rasheda K Chowdhury, professor Syed Anwar Hossain, Ramendu Majumdar, Sarwar Ali, Nur Mohammad Talukder, professor MM Akash, Khushi Kabir, Rana Dasgupta, Robayet Ferdous, Zobaida Nasreen, Selu Basit, RM Debnath, Asit Baran Roy, Abdullah Al Mamun Chowdhury, Saleh Ahmed, AK Azad, Parvez Hashem, Zahirul Islam Zahir, Jahangir Alam, Alok Dasgupta, Abdul Wahed, Abdur Razzaque and Gautam Shil.

Sammilita Samajik Andolan general secretary Saleh Ahmed sent the press release to the media.