Syndicates are inventing new schemes every day but the interim government will break their tyranny, according to Asif Mahmud Shojib Bhuiyan, advisor to the Ministry of Labour and Employment.
Although those who are involved in syndicates are united, they will face pressure when goods are sold at 20-30 percent cheaper and will have to stop, the Anti-Discrimination Student Movement leader said.
Asif made the remarks after inaugurating the sale of essential agricultural goods at subsidised prices from Fashol.com at the Trading Corporation of Bangladesh intersection at Dhaka’s Karwan Bazar on Wednesday.
The interim government is trying to break the hold of the syndicates, he said.
He pointed to the success in easing the price of eggs and said that Fashol.com will help to cool food prices by selling it at low prices.
“The government is not short of determination to bust syndicates,” he said. “All we need is information and the public's cooperation. You have already seen that things are changing.”
Mohang Selim Uddin, secretary at the Ministry of Commerce, asked for people to inform the authorities if they see extortion anywhere, vowing to take immediate action.
As Fashol.com is a non-profit organisation, they can buy and sell at low prices, he said.
“If other people also come up with similar initiatives, then you will have our cooperation.”
AHM Shafiquzzaman, the secretary for the Ministry of Labour, said that farmers do not get much money from sales as middlemen snatch it up.
He promised to break all syndicates and build a state free of discrimination for the people.
