-Increase in fuel and water prices will cause great financial hardship in public life: CAB
It is different for those who have a lot of money in their hands, but those with low incomes like day laborers, garment workers, rickshaw pullers, van drivers, street vendors (hawkers) are living in uncertainty due to income-expenditure mismatch. Again the soaring price of fuel price comes with another misery.
Not only that, at the same time, there is another bad news for the citizens of Dhaka from WASA. The residents of the capital will have to pay at least 10 percent extra water bill from July. The last time the price of water was increased, where it was 5 percent higher than the previous price. But in July the prices are increasing by at least 10 percent. Those who are raising the prices of essential stuff like fuel and water are also justifying the price hike, but most of those who are forced to pay these increased prices cannot afford it.
Meanwhile, the commodity prices are up warding at high speed. After the formation of the new cabinet, the government became serious about controlling the prices. The selling price of several products has also been fixed, in which some of the products are sold within the fixed price set by the government, but most of the products are sold according to the wishes of the traders. Just two and a half months ago, on March 15, the government had fixed the prices of 29 essential products. According to the official notice, one kg of round potatoes can be bought in the market at Tk 28.55, but yesterday, it was sold at Tk 55 to 60 per kg depending on the quality in almost all markets of Dhaka.
In the notification issued by the Department of Agriculture Marketing by fixing the price, the traders were requested to sell the products at this price until further instructions. But the consumers are not able to buy eggs even if they want the price set by the Department of Agriculture, although they are supposed to be able to buy eggs at Tk 10.49 each, in the market, each egg (if you buy a dozen together) has to be bought at Tk 13.33 to Tk 14.16. And if you want to buy an egg retail, you have to multiply Tk 15. In other words, there is a big difference between the price set by the government office and the price set by the traders in the market. Same situation with the price of broiler chicken, one kg of broiler chicken is supposed to be bought for Tk 175 but the price of broiler chicken is selling from Tk 225 to Tk 240 in the market. In other words, the market situation is not at all favorable for the common citizens, before the initiative to control this unstable market situation is successful, the increase in the price of fuel and water is spreading anger among the citizens.
Shakil Hossain is working in a private company. His salary has not increased in the last few months, but he is buying products at higher prices by working on his previous salary, he uses a motorcycle to travel to the office, the price of octane has increased by two and a half taka per liter, which has increased his travel expenses. Expressing his anger, he said that if the price of fuel increases, the cost of transportation naturally increases, and the price of daily commodities also increases. Due to the increase in fuel prices (especially diesel) amid the continuous rise in commodity prices, transport fares will increase to reach the capital and sales centers for goods from different districts and production areas. And if the transport fare increases, there is a risk of another increase in the price of all products. In other words, there is no good news for consumers.
In a government announcement, the price of fuel oil has been adjusted by increasing 75 paise per liter for diesel and kerosene and Tk 2.50 per liter for petrol and octane. As a result, the existing price of diesel and kerosene at the consumer level has been increased from Tk 107 to Tk 107 75. Besides, the existing price of petrol per liter has been increased from Tk 124.50 to Tk 127 and the existing price of octane has been increased from Tk 128.50 to Tk 131. This new rate has been implemented from June 1. With the increase in the price of diesel, kerosene, petrol and octane, not only the transport sector is affected, but also the cost of production in factories will increase. Apart from this, the cost of production of food crops which require irrigation will also increase as this irrigation has fuel consumption. In other words, common people will suffer from this trend of price increase.
Meanwhile, Dhaka WASA has decided to increase the price of water by 10 percent. The price of water has been increased 14 times in the last 14 years. Dhaka WASA published a public notice saying that this 10 percent price increase will be implemented from July 1. According to WASA's public notification, according to section 22 of the WASA Act 1996, in order to adjust the inflation, the price of water has been adjusted by 10 percent from July 1 of this year and the price of water for residential customers has been fixed at Tk 16.70, which is currently Tk 18.15. And for commercial customers, the price of the same amount of water has been fixed at Tk 46.20, which is currently Tk 42. The decision will also be applicable to all types of (water and sewage) charges, including unmetered holdings, deep sewers, under-construction buildings and minimum bills. Dhaka WASA last adjusted water and sewerage rates by 5 percent on July 1, 2021. But this time the price has been increased by 10 percent.
Users termed this increase in the price of water as unusual. They said Dhaka WASA is not able to provide clean water to the people, but the price is increasing. Some have called it a double punishment for citizens. Sadek Mustafa, a private employee living in Dhaka Malibagh, commented that there is no opportunity to drink WASA water without boiling it. In other words, the water provided by WASA has to be spent on gas. In this situation, Dhaka WASA should first provide clean water and then think about increasing the price.
Consumers Association of Bangladesh (CAB) is strongly protesting the decision to increase the price of water by 10 percent as unfair and unreasonable. The organization protested in a notice yesterday. CAB believed that if corruption, wastage and mismanagement are curbed, there will be no need to increase the price of water.
The organization said that the rise in commodity prices and rising inflation have already put a lot of financial strain on people's lives. Electricity and fuel prices have been increased in the name of price adjustment. Similarly, Dhaka WASA has also decided to increase the price of water. If the increased water prices persist, the burden of financial hardship will be imposed on people's lives. By managing the organization in a commercial way instead of providing services, taking subsidies from the government on the one hand, and showing the company's profit on the other hand, the predatory spending and predatory profit process created by Dhaka WASA is as unacceptable as it is contrary to public interest. They called for the withdrawal of this decision to increase the price of water.
ZH
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