'Food crisis to hit hard at the end of April'

Former adviser to caretaker government Hossain Zillur Rahman has said that food crisis among Bangladesh's poor masses will get intensified at the end of April this year. He made this remark on Thursday while speaking through a video conference on a research conducted by Power and Participation Research Center (PPRC) and BRAC Institute of Governance and Develop-ment  (BIGD).

According to the research, extremely poor people of the country are facing a hazardous crisis because of the outbreak of coronavirus pandemic. 80% people have become jobless in urban areas under these circumstances. 79% people in rural areas have become unemployed. Poor citizens have lost their earnings by 71%, the research shows. Urgent aid is required to sustain these people.

PPRC and BIGD has estimated that 5600 crore taka is needed for this purpose.

The research states that most of the poor people have been surviving at this moment by borrowing money but they cannot go on like this for longer than two weeks. As a result these people will face acute hardship at the end of April.
The research paper is titled "Poverty Impact of Covid 19".

PPRC and BIGD conducted a survey on 5471 families as part of the research.

BIGD Executive Director Imran Matin talked about the findings of the research on Thursday. He informed that the research was carried out from 4 to 12 April.

Most of these people are poverty-stricken such as day labourers, peasants, rickshaw pullers and small traders. Coronavirus has heavily affected the economic condition of these people, Imran Matin further said.

PPRC Executive Chairman Hossain Zillur Rahman stated that a poor rural family on an average needs 6600 taka to meet their monthly needs.

This amount is 8100 taka for a poor urban family. Hossain Zillur Rahman commented that the government should cooperate with these families with essential monetary and humanitarian aid without delay.

On the other hand, State Minister for Disaster Management and Relief Enamur Rahman told media that the government has sufficient food grains in stock. There is no likelihood of any food shortage at the end of April, he added.