Food price inflation

The issues of food price inflation and increases in the cost of living, and their adverse impact have certainly been reported in detail in the news media. But barring some exceptions, there has been a shortage of independent critical analysis and informed comment. The most worrisome problem agitating the minds of the common people in Bangladesh today is how long they must bear with the food price inflation that has hit them hard in the past couple of years. Stung by the sharp rises in the cost of living, large sections of the people in both rural and urban areas clearly feel let down by the ruling government. The sharp rise in the prices of food items and some other essentials, and the absence of an adequate response from the government, has stoked people's fears about the future. This is the time for news organizations to make the best use of their internal specialized resources where they exist. Even more important, they must draw on the expertise available within the professional community of economists, other experts, and policy specialists. The challenge for the media is to analyse the essential facts relating to food price inflation and the increased cost of living burden, and its impact on millions of vulnerable people. It should help people see through the blame game being played by the government and the opposition political parties, which tends to obfuscate the issues. Adding to the agony of the victims of runaway inflation are some steps taken by the ruling government. These include the large-scale denial of the meagre facilities provided under the VGD programme in the name of weeding out bogus cards, a refusal to renew cards, and the tardy implementation of the National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme. Gopal Sengupta Canada E-mail : gopalsengupta@aol.com