Rising living cost hits poor hard: CAB

The cost of living leaped by 8.44 per cent in the capital in 2017 as food and other essentials, utility charges as well as house rent became costlier, according to the annual report of the Consumers Association of Bangladesh released Tuesday. 
In 2017, cost of living rose by 8.44 per cent, said the report.
Nearly 114 food items became costlier in the last year, show CAB’s collected data.
Besides, there could be more food items that too became costlier, but their data were not collected, CAB said. 
The CAB report said that 22 other essential items also became dearer during the year in review.
In 2017, prices of food items and services increased by 7.17 per cent.
Costs of education, treatment and diagnostic tests as well as electricity, gas for cooking and commercial uses and water supply too increased, it said. 
The government is keen on increasing its earnings only, CAB president Ghulam Rahman said while releasing the report at a news conference at Dhaka Reporters Unity.
But the government took no interest in slashing citizens’ expenses, he said.
The soaring cost of living increased the hardship for two crore extreme poor people as well as the low income groups, he said.
In 2016, shows the CAB report , the cost of living escalated by 6.47 per cent while prices of food items and services by 5.81 per cent.
CAB’s energy adviser M. Shamsul Alam blamed unabated corruption, extortions during the food supply chain, businessmen’s greed for unbridled profits together with the government’s tendency to increase revenue earnings contributed to soaring annual cost of living. 
In 2017, rice price increased by 20.40 per cent on average and the coarse verities rose at rates higher than the finer categories.
The increase in coarse rice varieties at higher rates reflects the state of the econ omy said CAB’s Consumer Complaints Handling Committee Convener Mobashwer Hossain. 
The irrational state, he said, compels the less moneyed to spend more on their food. 
In 2017, onion, vegetables, milk, beef, fish, chicken, egg, sugar, molasses, salt, cooking oil, tea and clothes were among the items that became costlier. 
Local onion price leaped by 40 per cent while imported onion price 57.54 per cent, shows the CAB report.
Vegetable prices rose by 24.28 per cent while milk by 20.36 per cent, beef by 19.72 per cent, sugar by 12.8 per cent, salt by 11.03 per cent, cooking oil by 10.78 per cent and tea by 10.32 per cent, shows the CAB report. 
House rent increased by 8.14 per cent, it shows. 
tiny slum accommodation’s rent rose by 8.24 per cent, it shows. 
Piped gas price increased by 23.08 per cent, electricity price by 6.44 per cent and piped water price by five per cent.
The CAB report said that the burden of annual loss incurred by PDB in power generation to the tune of Tk 6,342 crore is transferred on the consumers’ shoulders.
This happens said CAB for not using the available cheaper means of electricity generation.
CAB described utility price hikes as ‘unjustified.’ 
But prices of hilsa, lentil, coconut oil, potato and garlic fell during the year in review, it said.
CAB called for the creation of a ministry or department dedicated to keep food and essential prices within common folks’ affordability.

News Courtesy: www.newagebd.net