Economists and businesspeople at a dialogue yesterday urged the government to take concrete measures in the next budget to ease power crisis.

They said the country's energy and power sector is now in a shambles and unless the government takes steps in the next budget, the industrial development and the economy as a whole will be affected.

The government must ensure the energy and power security by taking budgetary measures so that the country can sustain the present economic growth, they added.

They were speaking at the dialogue on 'Budget, Business and Economic Prosperity' jointly organised by the Federation of Bangladesh Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FBCCI) and Development Initiative and supported by the National Credit and Commerce Bank Limited (NCCBL) in Dhaka.

Addressing the function, Professor Wahiduddin Mahmud said the government may have to increase the prices of fuel for another time and it will create a problem not only for the government but also for the country's economy.

He said there is no alternative to long-term investment in the power sector to ease the crisis. On other budgetary measures, he advised the government to take more effective programmes based on previous year's programmes to face monga, a famine like situation. "I think it will be a challenging measure in the next budget."

As the government will have to allow trade unionism in the export processing zones by September this year, the government should carefully make a specific direction in the budget, Mahmud said.

Chairman of Bangladesh Economic Association Quazi Kholiquzzaman said while the neigh-

bouring countries such as India are taking proper management system for their energy plants, Bangladeshi plants are not provided with proper management. Urging the government to take steps to control the prices of essential items, Atiur Rahman, chairman of Unnayan Shamunnay, said the finance minister should stop the provision for whitening black money in the next fiscal.

Sonali Bank Chairman Mirza Azizul Islam, Bangladesh Shilpa Bank Chairman Professor Abu Ahmed, NCCBL Chairman M Waziullah Bhuiyan, former caretaker government adviser Rokia A Rahman, FBCCI Vice-president Dewan Sultan Ahmed and Development Initiative Executive Director MA Taslim also spoke at the function. FBCCI President Mir Nasir Hossain sought highest allocation for power sector while presenting a set of proposals for the next budget.