Common people suffer as fuel oil prices shoot up

The decision to increase fuel oil prices by a large margin is unprecedented in the history of Bangladesh. Before taking such a decision, the government could have taken into account the extent of its negative impact on the country's economy and public life. Past experience tells us if the price of fuel increases, it has a direct impact on the cost of living. The hike has already led to disarray in public transportation, leaving commuters with increased fares and fewer vehicles on the roads. The prices of essential commodities and other services are going up. And the fixed-income groups are the ones who are going to be the hardest hit.
When oil prices were low in the international market, the government collected more money from consumers and made profits. Now it is completely unreasonable to increase prices at one go using the excuse of global market. In this context, we request the authorities concerned to keep the fuel price at a tolerable level.

Ashikujaman Syed,
Research Assistant,
Bioinformatics Research Lab,
Center for Research Innovation and Development (CRID),
syedashikujaman@yahoo.com