Pandemic cuts income of 77pc people in last 1.5 years

Expenditure increased by 6.31 per cent

Finds CAB study

Staff Correspondent: The income of 77 per cent of people in the country has declined due to the fallouts induced by Covid-19 in the last one and half years, the Consumers Association of Bangladesh (CAB) said yesterday.
Not only the decrease of income but also the expenditure of people increased by 6.31 per cent across the country for different reasons, CAB said in its district and upazila level representatives conference held virtually.
The prices of basic commodities and some public goods have soared during the pandemic time, although the government has taken some initiatives, said CAB Chairman Ghulam Rahman.
For instance, the prices of water and fares of public transports were not fixed reasonably and the Dhaka Water Supply and Sewerage Authority hiked the price of water by 5 per cent for residential and commercial uses last month, he said.
Similarly, the government hiked the bus fare by some 60 per cent in March this year and the bus operators were instructed to use 50 per cent of the carrying capacity to maintain the required social distancing, Rahman said.
However, very few bus operators have been following the government instruction in carrying the passengers although the passengers are paying the bus fares at an increased rate in Dhaka, he alleged.
As a result, the much required social distancing is not maintained and the passengers in the time of crisis have been paying an additional bus fare, he added. Although the government has made good laws for curbing the anomalies, the applying of those laws has not been taking place properly, Rahman also said.
So, the CAB chairman sought more freedom of some organisations like Bangladesh Standards and Testing Institution (BSTI), Drug Administration, Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (BERC), Bangladesh Food Safety Authority (BFSA) and Directorate of National Consumer Rights Protection for delivering better services to the people.