Price rise during festivals
- The People's Chronicle Editorial :: October 26, 2022 -
GONE are the days when extended bandhs and blockades used to be imposed by certain organisations to express discontentment against the government over different issues whenever grand festivals were round the corner.
Back then, disruption caused to normal transportation of transport fuel and essential goods triggered unprecedented price rise of various items with the impact most intensely felt by the commoners.
Apart from the agitations called by civil societies and student bodies to make the establishment accord importance to their demands and address grievances, hiking of prices of petroleum products by the government too generally resulted in the traders raising rates of different commercial goods which the commoners had to silently tolerate.
For a change, there has been neither any major public agitation in the past 4-5 years nor has the price of petroleum products increased in the last few months.
When prices of petroleum products were raised for the last time, the Russia-Ukraine conflict was cited as the primary factor. Well, the war continues to rage but there has been no change in the rate of petrol and diesel for the past many months, thereby indicating that global events aren't the only reason for increasing tax on petroleum products but there are other factors which the public are not made aware about.
Nevertheless, the same old practice of traders dictating terms and selling goods at their own sweet will during festive seasons continues with the consumers having no option but to possess items of their choice at the rate fixed by the business outlets.
While it is obvious that the traders will cite collection of hefty unauthorised taxes by members of armed outfits from Manipur-bound transport operators along the highways for prices of various goods remaining abnormally high in the state, one cannot help but suspect that the traders are calling the shots owing to complacency on the part of the departments existing to prevent unethical trade practices.
For instance, an important institution like the Consumers' Club of Manipur comes into prominence only when newspapers carry reports about public complaints over price rise, that too during major festivals.
With departments and institutions established to monitor the market remaining in a state of prolonged dormancy, concerned civil societies and student bodies have been undertaking drives to oversee whether the traders are taking undue advantage of inaction by the departments concerned as well as frenzy shopping for the festivals.
While silence of legislators, ministers and leaders of political parties holding the rein of power over price rise is understandable, the opposition parties too seem not concerned about the impact of price hike on the commoners though periodical tweak in price of petroleum products is huge issue during election campaigning.
Thus, left with no option the public would be hoping that the government authorities would step in to ensure that the proposal by Protection and Preservation Committee, Manipur for shop owners to publicly display rates of items instead of selling them at whatever price they want is strictly followed with, failing which minor incidents of disagreement between the consumers and the traders might turn ugly and spoil the festive environment.
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