Price hike of essentials is a common factor before Ramadan and a survey has found that the urban poor are grappling with the price rise of essentials. Reportedly, people in the lower income bracket spend half of their incomes on food. But if a family member becomes sick, they face hardship and a predicament. On top of that, the poor are deprived of nutrition because they focus on filling their stomach rather than eating food that are rich in vitamins and protein.

In the past, several surveys found that in major towns and cities, the poor often cannot afford meat or fish – food that is essential for a balanced growth. When sanitation problems plus lack of fresh water are added the lives of urban poor only become mired in tribulations. While many development bodies are working to provide food for Tk. 1, such initiatives rely solely on the benevolence of the city resident because the fund for preparing the one Taka meal has to be accumulated.

If top business conglomerates link with such programmes then in addition to providing low cost meals with protein and vitamins, they can also use such efforts as part of corporate social responsibility. To look at another angle, if the largest business conglomerates decide to provide funds for low cost markets in front of slums then many slum dwellers will be able to buy meat, fish at affordable rates.

Such operations can only be for the urban poor and the low income people with a monthly income lower than Tk. 15000. As for the government, there was a move by the TCB to sell onions at low cost and a similar move can be taken to use trucks to move around the city and sell meat, fish and other items at low cost to people who belong to the low income segment.

Since both the city corporations have two elected mayors for another five years, a campaign to provide low cost essentials to urban slums can be taken. This can be a first step in activating the city wards which can play a wide ranging role in making civic life better. The ward councilors should form a civil society body which will collect a certain amount from all residents of an area to provide help to the ones with low income in that specific ward. If each resident pays Tk. 20 then a sizeable fund can be formed with the city corporation also chipping in.