Surprising study finds development is meant to help people

A surprising new study published yesterday revealed that the purpose of development in any country is to improve the lives of its citizens.

The study was launched in the capital's statest-of-the-artest convention hall, itself a glowing example of development, which takes Tk 15 lakh to hire for an event.

"First of all, all you people are calling the findings of the study surprising, but that is slightly wrong," said Ash Chorjoh Olam, the study's lead author. "That we have to do the study itself is the surprising aspect; not necessarily the findings."

The study was conducted over the past 5 days, cost Tk 1 crore (the minimum amount for it to be considered a study), and included phone calls to economists and development experts of neighbouring countries that were also developing, or had developed.

"We started the study when we saw that all the bridges built in Chapasthan were empty following a record hike in price of fuel," she said. "All the fields in the countryside were also devoid of crops.

"Then we found that the Chapamara Petroleum Corporation [CPC] had made Tk 40,000 crore profit over the last five years by not reducing fuel prices in proportion to international price falls. Then, CPC raised fuel prices by 50 percent after making a loss of Tk 8,000 crore over the last five months.

"Studying deeper, because that is what we do, we found that some of those profits were used for development of infrastructure, but instead of absorbing losses due to increasing fuel prices in the international market, they passed the loss on to the consumers.

"That made us ask what is development actually for. Experts from neighbouring countries told us that countries usually develop so that their people can have a better standard of living, which makes the population want to vote for the government doing the good work."

That is what the study team suspected before the study, she said, but they conducted it just to make sure after seeing the policies in Chapasthan.

Meanwhile, in a separate press conference, Energetic Development Minister Misrule I'mit refuted the study's claim, saying that development is very important, and that benefit to people is a by-product of the all-important development.

"Have you seen the cloverleaf intersection? Or the network of flyovers in the capital," he asked reporters.

When asked whether the CPC could have thought along longer-term lines when they were raking in the profits so that they could handle a crisis instead of plunging the country into an economic crisis, he grew angry.

"You guys don't know anything about the long game. When satellite images show the level of development and the numbers of bridges, flyovers and the empty streets, actually developed countries will think that we are developed too. That will increase investment. But you guys wouldn't understand, that's why I am shouting up here and you are standing quietly down there."