Bangladesh Jamaat-e-Islami’s Secretary General Dr. Shafiqur Rahman has issued the following statement on 27th December, 2016 protesting the government decision of double price hike of gas from next 1st January.

“The government has taken a decision to hike gas tariff from next 1st January which is unjustifiable, illogical and it would go definitely against the public interest.

As the present government is not an elected government, they have taken the decision of gas price hike for second time within just 9 months. They can never take such unjust decision if they were elected by the people. We came to know from a credible source that, gas price for two burners is going to be Tk 1000, and for single-burner stove Tk 800 in residential sector. The price of Compressed Natural Gas (CNG) for vehicles is going to see a hike up to Tk 45 per cubic meter. This rate is almost double to the current rate. The gas price is going to be hiked simultaneously for the commercial sector as well. According to the latest proposal of Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (BERC), the gas price is going to be hiked for household services by 140 percent, for captive power plant 130 percent, for electricity by 63 percent, for fertilizer 72 percent, for industrial sector by 62 percent, for commercial sector 72 percent and for CNG by 83 percent.

Such a huge price hike of gas would be major blow for the economy. Such hike would increase the hike of essential commodities, production cost in agriculture and industrial sector and transportation. It may cause inflation as people’s buying capacity would be decreased. Already people are suffering immensely for rapid price hike of the essential items, under such circumstances; another gas price hike would create more sufferings. So it is the demand of the moment and the general masses not to hike gas price and to undertake effective steps to keep the price of the essentials within the common’s reach.

In this backdrop, I am calling upon the government to repeal the unjust decision of gas price hike for the sake of the public interest.”