THE government is planning to raise the price of gas by 95 per cent which will not be fair under the existing state of affairs. Firstly, because it will have an adverse impact on the economy. The business sector of the country has been passing through a hard time. Political turmoil early this year and recent rise of militancy have created a lull in the economic domain. Cost of production of most of our export products will go up and Bangladesh will lose its competitive edge in the international market.
The government is already charging the common people higher for fuel compared to its price in  international market and now increase in gas price will only add fuel to the fire. The gas sector is well known for its corruption and malpractices. Recent media reports depicting widespread corruption of Titas gas distributors should be an eye-opener and instead of raising the price of gas the government should exercise its power to eliminate the rampant corruption in the activities of one of our largest distributors of gas in the country. I am sure if the government can rein the corruption in the gas sector, it will not be necessary to raise the price of gas. Both the industrial and household consumers can continue to enjoy the same price. The industrial sector, in particular, will be spared of an added burden of increased production cost and the competitive edge enjoyed by our products in international market will remain unaffected.Â
Masud Rana
Dhanmondi, Dhaka
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