Staff Reporter :
Considering the sufferings of the people due to the recent price hike of fuel and electricity rationing, the authority concerned has been directed to bring down the fuel prices when the fuel prices fall in the world market.
Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina gave the directives while speaking in a meeting with organising secretaries of Awami League (AL) from eight divisions at her official residence Ganobhaban on Sunday.
“We will adjust the prices of fuel oil whenever it comes down in the world market. I have given that directive too,” she said.
According to the Prime Minister, “We can realise the sufferings of the people and understands that the people of the country have been suffering due to the recent price hike of fuel oil and electricity rationing.”
PM Hasina, chief of the governing Awami League, assured that her government will surely cut down the fuel oil price when it will come down in the international market.
Referring to the ongoing power crisis and the countrywide load-shedding, she said that people have to endure this pain for some more days.
“When the coal-fired electricity stations go into production, our problems with power will be moved away,” she said.
Meanwhile, State Minister for Power, Energy and Mineral Resources Nasrul Hamid has also said that fuel prices will be adjusted soon and requested everyone to be patient for one or two months.
“The fall in oil prices in the international market will actually bring down the prices in the country. Prices will be adjusted several times if necessary” Nasrul Hamid said in a seminar titled “Energy Security in Bangladesh: Volatile International Market” on Sunday.
The seminar was organised Forum for Energy Reporters Bangladesh (FERB).
“We are closely monitoring the global situation. It hasn’t been long since the fuel prices were adjusted. I would tell everyone to be patient for a month or two. We are optimistic that if the price of oil starts to decline, we can certainly bring it down with a good adjustment,” the minister added.
Earlier in August this year, the government increased fuel oil prices by 42.5 per cent to 51.6 per cent, the highest in 20 years, giving a big blow to people already overwhelmed by skyrocketing prices of essential goods amid record inflation.
The Energy and Mineral Resources Division hiked diesel and kerosene prices by Tk34 per litre to Tk114 and octane and petrol prices by Tk46 per litre to Tk135.
