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The increasing suffering of the middle class

Hiren Pandit
25 Nov 2021 00:00:00 | Update: 25 Nov 2021 02:07:23
The increasing suffering of the middle class

The Covid-19 pandemic has devastated the world. The crisis regarding human life and livelihood has now become quite evident. The struggle for survival currently is the main thing. In the complex and unprecedented situation that arose during the period, the middle-class people fell into great crisis. The poorest people get help from the government and the rich. But who will help the helpless middle-class society? What is the other way to endure all the face? As a result, there is no immediate possibility of solving the crisis of the middle class.

The difficult question is how the middle class will survive in this changed and difficult reality. Many people have lost their jobs due to the adverse economic impacts of the pandemic. A significant number of people who have not lost their jobs are not getting their salaries and allowances on a regular basis. Most of these people belong to the middle class. So, what is the way to overcome the crisis? During this predicament, it is important to take up development activities and people-friendly measures for the overall protection of people of different professions.

Due to the pandemic, the social picture of present-day Bangladesh has changed a lot. Innumerable people have lost their jobs due to the pandemic. The shadow of uncertainty is getting longer and longer. Unsettled, many people have been forced to move to villages and are still doing so. Is there peace, is there a guarantee of living? What are the employment opportunities? There are no good answers to these pertinent questions.

Life of the middle class is going through a difficult phase now. This crisis is not only limited to Bangladesh but has spread all over the world. According to the latest report of the International Labor Organization (ILO), the crisis will worsen further. The ILO says Covid could cause 340 million people worldwide lose their jobs. Bangladesh is also on the list of troubled countries.

According to a separate survey, 28 per cent of the country’s population migrated from urban to rural areas during the pandemic period. The latest survey shows that 18 per cent of the people have returned to the city. That means 10 per cent of the people have not yet returned to the city.

During the pandemic there has been a net increase in poverty in the country. People are suffering greatly because of the uncontrolled increase in the prices of daily commodities. To combat the situation that has been created, no special steps are visible from the government’s side. The question arises as to how consistent this poverty and commodity inflation is with the GDP growth or per capita income growth figures that are emerging. To deal with this situation, the government has to pay special attention to this socio-economic impact.

The recent announcement to increase the price of fuel oil paved the way for many other announcements. The government could not withstand the price hike for just two months after selling oil at a profit for seven years. The Ministry of Energy raised the prices of diesel, kerosene, and furnaces. That being said, the price has been adjusted. Whatever the increase or adjustment, it could have been discussed with various stakeholders or done incrementally.

The price of fuel in the world market has been going up for several months, having been down for a long time. BPC has earned 40,000 crores in the last few years. After the Covid situation came relatively under control, international oil prices have been rising since June, reaching more than 80 USD a barrel. As a result, BPC started incurring losses at the end of last year.

Bangladesh is an energy importing country. So, the relationship with the world market is very close. The country needs about 7.5 million tonnes of fuel oil every year. Of this, diesel accounts for about 45 lakh tonnes. Diesel is used in transportation, especially in heavy vehicles, including trucks, lorries, covered vans, power generation, irrigation, and agriculture. As a result, inflation will affect food production, transportation, industrial production, and household spending in all areas of life. Truck owners have announced a movement to demand an increase in freight rates.

The government has increased the price of oil, and the bus fare has been increased. The government will increase the price of fuel, and the owners will increase the bus fare, there will be a dispute between the passengers and the transport workers. In this way, the burden of additional costs on transportation of goods, electricity, and agricultural production will be borne by the people. What else will they do?

According to the latest Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics (BBS), the country’s per capita income is now $2,554. The per capita income for the fiscal year 2020-21 was $2,227. People work hard in the agriculture, industry, service sector. They pay taxes, pay VAT, keeping the economy afloat.

The impact of the international market will be felt in India as well. So how did they reduce the price instead of increasing it? With the Rabi season ahead, they wanted to give relief to the farmers and keep the market normal. Don’t these thoughts come to the minds of our policymakers?

According to a BIGD (BRAC Institute of Governance and Development) survey, 32.4 million people have become gone under the poverty line in the country during the pandemic period. Another survey found that 67 per cent of people lost or decreased their income during the same time. When people are getting unemployed or losing their income, it is incumbent upon the authorities to stand by the common people. But the opposite is happening. Although the government gave many incentives during the pandemic period, the benefits did not reach all the common people.

When the common people struggle to calculate income and expenditure, it is as if the daily commodity market is on fire. Everything is expensive. The middle class, as well as the poor are now lining up behind TCB trucks. The prices of goods are also rising there. The government should bring the metaphorical fire in the market under control first. Only after that should they consider the profit-loss aspects.

By 2030, 40 per cent of the country’s population will be city dwellers because all kinds of facilities are available in the cities, compared to the rural areas. For this, all types of people including low and middle-income people are often forced to go to Dhaka and other big cities. As the supply is less than the demand for different types of accommodation, the house rent is also increasing. If the idea of ​​decentralization or reduction of population pressure on Dhaka is not implemented, the rent problem does is not likely to be solved.

The increase in house rent without any regulation in the country and the uncontrolled increase in the price of daily necessities is undesirable. For low-income people, it’s like a thunderbolt. Different classes of traders are syndicating and increasing the prices of daily necessities. The government must crack down on these greedy and dishonest businessmen. Arrangements should be made to set up commodity price monitoring committees in all markets to monitor the prices of essential commodities in the market and to monitor whether the products are being sold at reasonable prices. The goodwill of the government and traders can play a significant role in ensuring that the common people of the country can live a little better by preventing the rise in the prices of essential commodities which is undesirable.

The government needs to pay more attention to this. The goodwill of the government can help relieve the misery of the middle class by preventing the unwelcome increase in the price of essential commodities.

 

The writer is a Research Fellow, BNNRC. He can be reached at [email protected]

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