How the economy-related activities of the government may be turning into a matter of concern has recently been highlighted by the Centre for Policy Dialogue. The CPD clearly feels, and with good reason, that the planning strategy of the present caretaker government has largely been based on suggestions made by the World Bank and the IMF. Of course, the government and the two Bretton Woods institutions do not agree with such an assessment. That does not in any way dispel the suspicion that the government has in fact moved away from a programme that might have given people breathing space where prices are concerned. It was only recently that the prices of fuel products were increased; and so trying to make the way clear for a new increase can only put a fresh and tighter squeeze on consumers. Where urea fertiliser is concerned, one does not need to be educated in detail on the consequences a price hike in the sector will have on agriculture. And yet a disturbing part of the story is that in June this year, a proposal sought to increase the price of urea fertiliser by as much as Tk. 7,000 per tonne, meaning an enhancement in price by a whopping 51 per cent. One might be consoled by the thought that the move has now been held back, but the truth is that the government still plans to go for a hike in gas prices. If it does, it will mean things going back to square one.

The government will need to move with caution over the price question. As it is, it has been unable to take any measures toward controlling the prices of essential commodities. That may soon turn out, if it has not already, to be its Achilles' heel. On top of such vulnerability, an increase in the prices of fertiliser, gas, electricity and fuel will only compound the miseries of citizens. The ground realities call for extreme circumspection. Nothing should be done that will make new holes in an already frayed social fabric.