Price rise

The abnormal rise in the prices of essential commodities, especially foodstuff, has emerged as a major concern for the common man. With prices recording unusual increases every few months under one pretext or the other, it is apparent that the Government and the administration have failed to restore some semblance of order amidst the chaos. While any hike in petroleum prices invariably exercises a cascading effect on prices of commodities, the reverse was not seen when petroleum prices were slashed substantially last time. And this has been most conspicuous in Assam, thanks to the total surrender of the Government before the trading lobby and the absence of any concerted consumer movement. While the latest price rise can be attributed to some extent to the Lok Sabha polls with a major portion of election funds of the political parties coming from the business community, the fact stands that Assam continues to be a happy hunting ground of unscrupulous traders who resort to price rise at the drop of a hat and without facing any resistance.

The inertia of the Government over the alarming situation vis-à-vis price rise is in stark contrast to its oft-repeated concern for the masses. The Food and Civil Supplies Department is supposed to keep a watch on the prices of essential commodities and verify the traders’ justifications for effecting a hike. But the anarchy prevailing in our markets belies the existence of such an important government agency. The so-called price rise at sources – a common alibi of traders – is rarely put to a scrutiny to verify whether the price rise in the State commensurates with any actual shortfall. Then, the corruption-riddled public distribution system (PDS) that could have provided much succour to the common man lies in total doldrums. Government inaction apart, equally condemnable is the resounding silence of the opposition parties and other organisations which are habituated to raising a hue and cry over every trivial matter but lacks the sincerity to pursue real issues of vital public importance. Under the circumstances, there is an urgent need for enhancing the people’s awareness and building up a mass consumer campaign to check arbitrary and unreasonable price rise. There is a lot we can learn from the consumer movement in neighbouring West Bengal where people’s awareness acts as the most potent deterrent to any whimsical price rise. ASSAM TRIBUNE