Move to hike gas price
The governments move to increase the price of gas has come under criticism. Different civil society platforms and the Consumers Association of Bangladesh (CAB) have already opposed the proposal of gas price hike, saying there was no justification to increase the gas tariff now. A four-day hearing on gas price hike started on Monday at the Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB) auditorium. The Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (BERC) organised the hearing.
On behalf of the BERC, it is said that the gas price should be raised, but the Consumers Association of Bangladesh (CAB) strongly reacted to the government move and said that it would affect the consumers adversely. It also questioned the legality of gas price hike. BERC said that people who use gas in cylinders pay too much compared to the people who receive gas through the supply line, and the BERC thinks that there has to be a balance in it.
Gas comes from our own natural resources, and people of our country have a right over it. If we need to make a balance in the prices of supply line gas and cylinder gas, this balance can be achieved by lowering the price of a gas cylinder.
Gas, like fuel oil and electricity, is a very crucial household and industrial need, and the move to increase its price would surely increase the overall expenditure of people as it will affect the price of other consumers goods as well as transportation. In Bangladesh, businessmen wait always for a chance for increasing prices of their products, and no doubt the gas price hike would once again offer them an opportunity to fleece the general consumers. The relevant authorities should take into account the grievances of the consumers and take a pragmatic measure in this regard.
