DCs asked to take steps to keep essentials\\\' prices stable during Ramadan

The government has directed the deputy commissioners (DCs) to take effective measures for keeping the prices of essentials stable during the upcoming holy month of Ramadan, officials said Monday.
Besides, it also directed them to monitor the essentials' market strictly.
The move has been taken to maintain smooth supply of essential items to the market and control their prices during the Ramadan, officials said.
 "The cabinet division recently sent letters to the DCs to strictly monitor kitchen markets in their respective areas during the month of fasting so that unscrupulous traders could not earn undue profits from the consumers during Ramadan," a senior assistant secretary of the Cabinet Division told the FE.
The cabinet division has also directed the DCs to hold view exchange meetings with businessmen and respected persons in their areas for proper implementation of the Consumers' Rights Protection Act, sources said.
The Prime Minister's Office (PMO) is likely to hold a meeting with the Ministry of Commerce (MoC) tomorrow for ensuring smooth supply of essential commodities during the holy month, sources said.
The PMO and the MOC would discuss the present stock of essential commodities, market situation and supply chain across the country, they added.
Profit mongers usually increase the price of essential commodities such as sugar, soybean oil, lentils, grams, dates, green chilli and brinjal artificially during Ramadan, an official of the MoC said.
The government is moving ahead considering common people's interest as its priority. The MoC has taken several steps to gradually tackle price hike of the essential items and keep their prices within the reach of the commoners during the upcoming month of fasting, he said.
The relevant agencies will closely watch dishonest traders, who indiscriminately raise the essentials' prices to create artificial crisis and thus make windfall profits, a senior official of the MoC said.
The government has decided to take tough actions against people involved in creating artificial crisis of key essential items in the Ramadan.
The state-run Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB) spokesperson Md. Humayun Kabir said proper steps have already been taken to help ensure smooth supply and storage of edible oil, sugar, dates, lentils and chick-pea during the Ramadan.
TCB will sell the items in three phases -- 15 days before Ramadan, in the first week and in the middle of Ramadan, he said.
The TCB will sell edible oil, sugar, lentils, dates and chickpea through 174 trucks ahead of Ramadan. Of these trucks, 25 will be in Dhaka, 10 in Chittagong, five each in other divisional cities and two each in the districts, he added.
Traders at the city's different markets, especially Karwan Bazar wholesale market, told the FE that they will keep the prices of essential items at tolerable level during the Ramadan.
They also said that there will be no shortage of supply of essential commodities during the month of fasting.
The stocks of essentials are now sufficient, they said adding there would be no disruption in supply chain of commodities and the prices would remain stable during Ramadan.