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ESSENTIALS PRICE

TCB, OMS anomalies fail drive to arrest hike

SURANJIT DEBNATH
Irregularities in selling essentials through the Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB) and under the Open Market Sale (OMS) programme have foiled the government's attempt to stop skyrocketing of essential prices in the Ramadan.
A lot of allegations have come up against the TCB and the OMS dealers.
The main allegation against the TCB is that its trucks selling goods are rarely available to buyers, as they stay at one place for one hour only and also have no time schedule of arrival and departure. Other allegations include substandard quality of goods, manipulation in weight and insuffi-
cient amount of goods.
On the complaints, a TCB sales and distribution official said, seeking anonymity, "How can we serve perfectly, when our total manpower is only 225 across the country including 50 in the capital?"
On the lack of manpower, he said, "Once the TCB was a profitable organisation and had a 1,313-strong staff in 1990.” But, the staff has been slimed down year by year, he said, adding, "A total of 340 staffs were axed just in 2002 through golden handshake."
A TCB press release last Sunday claimed it has begun OMS of lentil at Tk 42 and sugar at Tk 34 per kg through 100 dealers in the capital from October 17. But most of the dealers said they did not receive the lentils and sugar mentioned in the release.
Later a TCB official on condition of anonymity admitted, "We have distributed lentils and sugar among only 42 dealers and each dealer can sell only 500kg lentils and 200kg sugar a day."
The TCB had launched OMS of four essentials -- onion, sugar, lentil and gram -- from trucks in the capital and three other divisional headquarters from October 5. It also simultaneously launched a price regulatory drive at 33 points in the capital, four in Chittagong, two in Rajshahi and one in Khulna to keep the market prices stable.
But, TCB officials said, while 20 mobile teams had been engaged at the start to sell the essentials in the capital, now only 10 teams are working.
The TCB, the resurrected government-owned trading agency, has already imported 3,150 tonnes of lentils and procured 120 tonnes of onion, 100 tonnes of chickpea and 300
tonnes of sugar from the local market.
Meanwhile top government ministers and legislators emphasised initiating more measures to minimise the sufferings of the masses by containing the price spiral of essentials in Ramadan.
The middle and lower middle classes and the poor people are experiencing a crippling effect of the unabated price spiral of essentials and Iftar items, as the government is yet to take any stern action against the unscrupulous businessmen who have hoarded up goods to further push up the prices.
The government also selected around 18,000 food dealers to sell OMS rice at Tk 14.50 a kg in the cities and 64 district towns.
But the OMS drive will not succeed in containing the price spiral of rice, unless it is sold at the union level, officials concerned pointed out, as it is needed more in rural areas, where most of the day labourers live.
People also reportedly show little interest in the OMS rice as it is of very poor quality while its price is almost close to that of the existing market price of rice.