Jatri Kalyan Samity urges withdrawal of increased fuel prices

Petroleum on sale at a filling station in Dhaka.

Bangladesh Jatri Kalyan Samity has demanded an immediate withdrawal of the recently increased fuel prices, criticising the government's decision to raise prices by Tk 20 per litre across all fuel categories. 

According to reports, passenger transports have started collecting higher fares after announced of the price hike of fuel prices while its impacts started showing also in kitchen markets in the capital on Tuesday September 22. 

BNP’s acting secretary general Ruhul Kabir Rizvi told reporters the government had to adjust the fuel prices in view of the high prices of petroleum in international markets in view of the wars in the Middle East. He said the war on Iran started when the present government was only 12 days old. The government tries to absorb shocks over time the situation worsened.  

The government revised retail prices of diesel, octane, petrol and kerosene, with the new rates coming into effect from Monday (Sept 21).

According to a notification issued by the Energy and Mineral Resources Division on Sunday, diesel will be sold at Tk 135 per litre, octane at Tk 165, petrol at Tk 160 and kerosene at Tk 155.

The diesel price was Tk 115 per litre, octane Tk 145 per litre, petrol at Tk 140 per litre, and kerosene at Tk 135 per litre.

The revised prices replace those set through a notification issued on Aug 31, 2026.

The Energy and Mineral Resources Division said the revised prices have been approved by the competent authority and will be effective from Sept 21.

In a statement sent to the media on Monday, the association said global fuel prices are currently on a downward trend, yet the government raised domestic fuel prices at midnight, deepening an already volatile economic situation marked by rising commodity prices, mounting inflation, and growing unemployment caused by factory closures linked to the energy crisis.

The association said that instead of standing by people amid this crisis, the government within seven months of taking office, has raised fuel prices twice, a move it termed "anti-people,"

It would trigger further hikes in transport fares, freight costs, and prices of goods, along with rising costs in industrial production, it said.

It urged the government to urgently reverse the decision and restore the previous fuel prices.

The statement further said it is a reality that governments sometimes operate commercial ventures and, at other times, provide subsidies in the public interest.

Amid the country's severe financial crisis, it said, the government has a responsibility to keep the economy running and rein in inflation by offering subsidies in the energy sector, thereby standing beside the country's struggling population. - UNB