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soaring prices Sir, It is hopefully relieving that the Government have decided to take measures on 31.10.98 to bring down the soaring prices of essential commodities. These steps initiated could have taken much earlier. The worsening price situation may not have aggravated by shortfalls in production. Onions 36 lakh tonnes against 42.7 lakh tones last year, two million tons shortfall in production of pulses due to stagnation of output @ 13-14 million tons per year. Prices of Arhar dal, Rajmash, Roungi, Channas, vegetables etc. besides edible oils, tea of sorts. ghee etc. which have similarly showed abnormal spurt in their prices with no signs of declining need urgent attention and lowering of prices. In view of the shortfall scenario in production, timely action could have averted escalation in their prices going hay ware, much to the distress of the people. Unless the Government comes down heavily on hoarders and adulterators, black marketeers and high profiteers, nothing worthwhile is going to be happened. There should be mobile magistrates assisted by required staff to check hoards, adulterated stuffs and black marketeering and to award on spot punishments to these public enemies. Fair price shops on large scale should be opened, which will mitigate unemployment problem simultaneously. Population control should be made drastically result oriented and the exploding population must be controlled effectively as being the fundamental cause of all the problems of the country. Non productive expenditures should be reduced effectively. Moreover, consumer organisations
must be wide spread and legally teethed and galvanised to
bring to book black marketeers, hoarders and high
profiteers. There should be net work of fair price shops
and rationing of scarce edibles instituted to overcome
business manipulated scarcity of essential commodities
immediately. Moreover, workers participation in the
running of industries is paramount to control prices as
the Industrial workers are also big consumers. It is
hoped that the Government will tide over the situation
successfully, moreso, because of new developments such as
Trinamool Congress president Mamta Banerji's decision to
resign from the Co-ordination Committee of BJP and Allies
for failure of the Government to hold the price line. |
