PM slams price hike during Ramadan

Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina today came down heavily on a section of businesspeople for the unethical act of increasing prices of essentials during Ramadan.

"Holy Ramadan is coming; we know that during this month some businesspeople try to hike prices of essentials. This is an absolutely villainous act," she said while inaugurating 50 model mosques along with Islamic cultural centres in parts of the country.

She inaugurated the mosques joining virtually from the Gono Bhaban.

Hasina said the holy month of Ramadan is the time for austerity and all have to focus on ensuring that people can do their religious activities properly during the month.

"During this month, this kind of profitmongers increase prices, making people suffer. This should not happen," she said.

The prime minister said the government has already distributed special cards for the people with low incomes.

She mentioned that the government is providing rice at lower prices (Tk 30 per kilogramme) after buying it at a higher price.

"Keeping the holy Ramadan in mind, the government will provide rice at Tk 15 per kg to an additional one crore people," she said.

She also said the government is providing 20 kgs of rice per month to those who are not eligible for work.

"Like this we are giving people rice, edible oil, lentil, sugar and other necessary items at fair price through fair price cards," she said.

She urged the affluent people to extend their assistance towards the needy people during Ramadan.

She requested all to remain vigil so that none can adulterate food, resort to hoarding, black marketing and create artificial crisis of essentials items.

In this connection, she urged imams to talk about this during khutbas in Jummah prayer on Friday.

"Food adulteration, hoarding and black marketeering are illegal and unnecessarily make people suffer. You [imams] should speak on these matters more to the people and you can say that during the khutba to make people aware of this," she said.

State Minister for Religious Affairs Ministry Md Faridul Haque Khan and secretary Kazi Enamul Hassan also spoke at the programme.

Later, she exchanged views with the cross section of people of Agoiljhara of Barishal, Fulbaria of Mymensing and Tentutial of Panchagar.

A documentary on the model mosques was screened at the programme.

Earlier, on June 10, 2021 and January 16, 2023, PM Hasina inaugurated 100 model mosques in the first and second phases, out of total 564, simultaneously across the country. The project aims at spreading the true messages of Islam for removing misconceptions about religion.