Bangladesh’s inflation hit a 12-year high of 11.66 per cent in July as the country faced unrest due to massive student protests over a controversial job quota system, the country’s statistics bureau said.
Data released by the Bangladesh Bureau of Statistics on Monday showed that food inflation registered a record high of 14.10 per cent in July, while non-food inflation stood at 9.68 per cent. In June, the figure was 10.42 per cent and 9.15 per cent respectively.
The previous high for overall inflation was 9.94 per cent in May last year, the report said.
July was marked by protests across the country organised by the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement, which began demanding reform of the quota system in government jobs. The government’s crackdown on dissent provoked protests and soon agitators began demanding the resignation of the Awami League government led by Sheikh Hasina.
Last week, 76-year-old Hasina resigned and fled to India. An interim government led by the chief councillor, 84-year-old Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus, was formed.
Mastercard Economic Institute (MEI) in its recent forecast said that the country is expected to witness a decline in GDP growth and inflation in FY 2025, reports The Dhaka Tribune. According to MEI, the country’s GDP growth will fall to 5.7 per cent and inflation, which rose to 9.8 per cent in FY24, is projected to fall to 8 per cent in FY25.
More than 230 people have been killed in Bangladesh in violence across the country since the fall of Hasina’s government on August 5, bringing the death toll to 560 since anti-quota protests began in mid-July.
A curfew was imposed for several days and the internet was cut off, disrupting supply chains and preventing people and businesses from operating smoothly in July. Rail and port services were also affected.
Charges against Hasina
Meanwhile, former Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and several senior officials of her administration have been charged with murder after a civilian was killed during protests in Dhaka. The charges were reportedly filed after the tragic incident on July 19, when police opened fire on protesters, killing a bystander.
According to Bangladeshi media, Sheikh Hasina and 6 others are named in a case filed by Amir Hamza, a relative of the deceased. The complaint alleges that police opened fire during a student protest and one shot hit a civilian Abu Saeed, who was passing by, killing him.
Apart from Hasina, the allegations also implicate secretary general Awami League, a former interior minister, a former police chief, a former head of the investigating agency and several unidentified police officers.
