Fair price sales draw huge crowds

The fair price sales initiative of the Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock to provide milk, eggs and meat at reasonable prices has had an overwhelming response from consumers of all classes in Dhaka.

The sale began on the first day of Ramadan (3 April) with only 10 mobile sales outlets, but the number of outlets was increased to 15 later due to a surge in demand.

The initiative was originally taken for the wellbeing of impoverished people, but many well-off consumers soon joined the queue in front of the mobile sale points.

Makbul Hossain, who came to Moghbazar Railgate sale point to purchase goods on Friday noon, said, "I am the caretaker of a house. I have come to buy eggs, milk, and chicken for my family."

Asked if he would buy beef, he told TBS that he could not afford to buy beef for Tk550.

Amena Begum, another consumer, said she had managed to buy 2 kg of beef and 3 litres of milk from the mobile van. 

"The prices of beef and milk are comparably lower here than in kitchen markets," she said.

Farhad Hossain, who came to Farmgate from Savar on personal business, said, "On the way back home, I suddenly noticed the sale point in Khamarbari area. So I bought 2 kg of beef and 2 kg of chicken."

Such mobile sales centers need to be introduced in Savar area also, Farhad added.

Ismail Hossain, a security guard at a house in the city's Manipuripara area, came to buy goods for his landlord at the Khamarbari sales point.

He told The Business Standard, "My landlord gave me Tk2,000 and I have managed to buy 2 kg of beef, 2 kg of chicken and 5 litres of milk."

Niaz Mostafa, a government employee from the Hatirpool area, bought 5 kg of beef, 3 kg of mutton and 5 litres of milk.

Asked why he was buying products that were meant for the destitute, he said, "I was not aware that the sale was only for the badly off."

Akhter Hossain, supervisor of the Khamarbari sale point, said some 200 kg of beef, 15 kg of mutton, 150 kg of chicken, 1600 pieces of eggs and 500 litres of milk were brought in yesterday.

"We were supposed to sell 1kg of meat per person but initially we sold more. It is Friday and there was a huge crowd at the beginning," he said.

Meanwhile, a long queue was seen at the Agargaon sale point near the Department of Environment office building from 9 am. When the mobile sales vehicle arrived at 9:30 am, about 40 people were standing in line to buy goods.

One consumer, Afzal Hossain, could not buy beef even after standing in the line for about an hour. Instead, he had to settle for some chicken and milk.  

Irked, he said, "I wanted to buy beef today but could not make it due to the long queue. The government needs to increase the sale amount."

Sales at Agargaon point ended at around 11:30 am, leaving 15 more consumers waiting in the queue. In just two hours, the mobile freezing van managed to sell 100 kg of beef, 35 kg of chicken, 15 kg of mutton, 1000 pieces of eggs and 150 litres of milk.

Currently, fair price sales are on at Abdul Gani Road, Khamarbari roundabout, Japan Garden City, Mirpur 60-feet road, Azimpur Maternity, Nayabazar in Old Dhaka, Arambagh, Notun Bazar, Kalshi, Jatrabari and Khilgaon.

In the mobile vans, the price of 1 litre of pasteurised milk has been fixed at Tk60, beef at Tk550, mutton at Tk800, dressed broiler chicken at Tk200 per kg and four eggs at Tk30.

The sales will continue from 10am to 5pm till 28 Ramadan.

Under the rules, each person standing in line can buy a maximum of 1 kg of beef or mutton, 1 kg of chicken, a dozen eggs, and two litres of milk. However, some were seen buying more than their fair share from the sales centers.

Md Iftekhar Hossain, public relations officer of the Ministry of Fisheries and Livestock, told TBS, "We are monitoring the mobile sales outlets. We are working to create awareness so that the affluent do not buy products from here." ***