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SOARING COST OF LIVING

Middle class in a tight spot
MD SHAHNAWAZ KHAN CHANDAN and MD ASADUZ ZAMAN
Excluded from the government’s social safety net, middle-income families are struggling to cope with the rising prices of basic goods and services.
The inflation rate rose to 6.17 percent in February from 5.6 percent in January, according to Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics.
It might be just a figure in economic terms, but for a middle-income earner like Md Abdul Hye, a senior officer at a private bank, it meant a decline in his purchasing power.
Hye, who runs a family of six with his monthly income of around Tk 60,000, said he was finding it hard to meet his family’s basic needs with his earnings and some contribution from two of his three children.
“Whenever I see reports of price hikes in newspaper, I panic. I cannot bear the thought of failing to provide for my children’s education,” said an anxious Hye.
His elder son and daughter will complete university education next year, while his younger son is a class-XII student.
“I’m struggling to pay their tuition fees though two of my children support me by doing part-time jobs,” said the 53-year-old banker.
His wife Parisa Akhter also feels the pinch of soaring prices.
“The situation is so dire that if any of us falls sick and needs to be hospitalised, we don’t have any savings to pay for treatment. I wish I could do a job and support my husband…,” said Parisa.
Hye said, “The government provides cash incentives and other support to ultra-poor families but we don’t get any help front any quarter… We cannot even stand in queues behind OMS [Open Market Sales] trucks.”
He is not alone. Many like him are grappling with the soaring cost of living.
Rezwan Haque, an NGO worker, earns around Tk 35,000 per month. He said it’s impossible for him to support his three-member family with this income.
“My wife is six months pregnant. She needs nutritious food and medicine. My mother is suffering from old age complications.”
To meet the expenses, Rezwan works as a delivery man after office hours to earn some extra money.
“After office hours, I work as a delivery man for an online food and grocery delivery platform to supplement my meagre income.
“Initially, I felt very sad and embarrassed to do this job. But gradually I realised that many people like me are doing it for extra money to survive in this situation…
“After paying for basic food, medicine, house rent and transport cost, I cannot save a penny,” he lamented.
WHAT EXPERTS SAY
Experts have voiced concern over exclusion of middle-income families from the social safety net, saying many of them are joining the ranks of new poor as a result of rising inflation.
Hossain Zillur Rahman, executive chairman of the Power and Participation Research Centre (PPRC), said, “Inflationary pressure, particularly on poorer households, is more severe than what the official figure suggests.”
“Inflationary pressure, particularly on poorer households, is more severe than what the official figure suggests.”
Economist Hossain Zillur Rahman