PRICE hike of essentials is the [hottest] issue nowadays especially in view of the skyrocketing … prices of sugar and edible oil in … city markets. The high court on Sunday ordered the authorities … to monitor whether essential items … are being sold at the rate fixed by the government. A two-judge bench … also asked them to set up mobile courts to control the prices of … essentials…. Earlier on July 19, the high court had asked the government to monitor the price spiral of essential commodities ahead of … Ramazan by operating adequate mobile courts in Dhaka and Chittagong … wholesale markets and retail shops. It also asked the government to take legal action against those responsible for manipulating the prices of essential commodities …

With … Ramazan only … one week away, the people are gripped by continued skyrocketing of the prices of essentials. The prices of different essential items have been soaring alarmingly…. It is a common practice on the part of … traders … to increase prices of different essential commodities on various pleas before and during ... Ramazan [and] thus earn extra profits. This time the market manipulation has begun recklessly.

…The government officials had assured the people repeatedly that everything would be done to contain price hike. But even before the start of the holy month prices of essentials, especially those used in increased quantity during … Ramazan, have escalated further in pursuance of the common practice on the part of a section of dishonest traders to create artificial crises of commodities…. The high court orders have been issued in the best interest of the public and it will help ease the problem if the government acts accordingly. To stabilise [the] market and contain price hike countrywide monitoring and total elimination of syndication are needed most. If … monitoring is conducted in its truest sense … the price situation will hopefully improve much to the relief of the people during the holy month…. — (July 26)