All living beings need food to survive. Nobody can survive without eating. Human beings are no exception. Therefore, among the five basic needs for human life, food is the first item. In primitive times, people did not wear good clothes, did not build excellent modern houses to live in, and had no education, earnings, or career. However, since birth, people had to eat. Therefore, food is the most important thing in human life. Without it, people cannot function.
For a long time, one of the topics of discussion among the people of the country is the price of essential products. The prices of products that we need every day to sustain life have long gone beyond the reach of people. Therefore, there is discussion-criticism about this issue everywhere.
Common people have to spend a large part of their income on food. Many can’t meet other needs with the remaining money. As a result, people appear to have reduced their food purchases. Children are growing up without adequate nutrition, which hinders their intellectual development. A generation without nutrition and talent is growing up in a helpless environment. Many are dying without being able to afford treatment. Many of them could not survive in the city and returned to the village.
Day after day continues the same but no effective steps are there to change the situation. Various reasons come from various levels of the government to increase the prices of daily commodities. Starting from the top level, government ministers and bureaucrats have legitimized the increase in the prices of daily commodities because of the impact of the wars in Palestine and Ukraine.
As a result, a class of unscrupulous businesspersons syndicated and increased the prices of everyday products one by one. Sometimes the price of rice increases suddenly, and then the price of eggs increases the next week. In this way, the price of rice, dal, oil, sugar, onion, fish, meat, and egg is increasing one by one and now the price is beyond the reach of common people.
A new government has replaced the old government. However, the situation has not changed. In its election manifesto, the political leaders mentioned controlling food prices as one of its goals. Breaking up the syndicate is essential. The officials should work in the interest of the consumer, not the trader. The price of the product will come to a reasonable level.
We did not see any reflection of the government’s announcement in the market. Besides rice, fish, and meat, the prices of dates, pulses, and local and foreign fruits, which are necessary for maintaining health, have increased. Syndicates continue their looting in the name of safe trade. The government’s job is to ensure that people get essential products at a fair price.
This trend of multiplying all government failures by the opposition has been going on for more than 15 years. Although the government is working on commodity prices, people are not getting the results despite taking a step after another.
Along with pricing, the supply situation needs to be improved. Officials must control extortion from production to the supply chain. A regular and effective market monitoring system is necessary. Besides, it is necessary to increase the scope of social protection for the large population who are struggling to meet their basic needs.
After all, admitting their failure, if the government does not take necessary measures, fixing the price alone will not be of any use. They should decide prices through discussions with the traders and implement them. Strict action is necessary. If not, the responsibility will fall on the government. Nevertheless, people vote for the government. Not shop owners’ associations or traders.