News Desk :
Braving the scorching heat, Lucky Akther, wife of a rickshaw-puller, waited in a long queue for several hours to buy oil, onion and lentil at subsidised prices from a truck selling the goods of the Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB) at Boubazar of Hajipara in the capital.
But she was not lucky enough to buy essentials on Wednesday as all stock of goods in the truck ran out fast because of the huge crowd of buyers, reports UNB.
As prices of essentials skyrocket, people rush to the open market sale (OMS) run by TCB Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB) truck to purchase goods at subsidised prices on Saturday, March 19, 2022 Syed Zakir Hossain/Dhaka Tribune”The prices of oil, onion and pulse have gone up so high in the market that it has become difficult for the poor like me to buy. So, I came here with the hope to purchase these items at relatively cheaper prices. But I only wasted around three hours here standing in the line as everything had run out before I reached the sellers,” an utterly frustrated Lucky told UNB.
As prices of essentials skyrocket, people rush to the open market sale (OMS)
run by TCB Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB) truck to purchase goods at subsidised prices on Saturday, March 19, 2022 Syed Zakir Hossain/Dhaka TribuneShompa Begum, a single mother of three kids who works as domestic help, had much more bitter experiences than Lucy’s.
“I waited for several hours yesterday (Tuesday) to buy some TCB goods, but returned home empty-handed. I also failed to buy the essential items today (Wednesday) as those had run out fast before I could reach the frontline despite two hours of wait,” she said with a deep breath in the city’s Malibagh Bazar area.
Shompa said it is now difficult for her to buy these items from the market at exorbitant prices. “Believe me, I couldn’t cook any curry for the last two days for lack of oil and onion. We took rice with boiled mashed potato and green chili and dried food. How’ll we survive if the prices of essentials don’t come down?”
She alleged that many men forcibly occupy the frontlines and buy items managing the sellers.
Shompa said women should be allowed to stand in separate queues or a rule needs to be there that one woman can buy the goods from the truck after a man to ease the hassles of female buyers.
Like Lucky and Shompa, many poor people are failing to buy essential items at the subsidised rates due to inadequate supply by TCB against the growing demand.
The skyrocketing prices of essentials such as rice, oil, lentil and onion, have dealt a double blow to the poor and the middle-income groups who have been already hit hard by the fallout of the Covid pandemic, forcing them to rush to the open market sale (OMS) run by TCB Trading Corporation of Bangladesh (TCB) truck to purchase these goods at subsidised prices.
