As the price of essential commodities are skyrocketing in the state during the second wave of pandemic, Manipur Students' Federation (MSF) on Monday urged the state government to maintain a close vigil on price rise, price manipulation and black marketing.
The prices of all essential commodities in the state have risen, making it more difficult for poor consumers to afford them, MSF general secretary Hijam Roshan said while speaking to the media on Monday in Imphal.
Roshan said that in order to ease the public suffering due to the price hike during the pandemic, the government should regulate the prices of all essential commodities and strengthen the Public Distribution System.
All essential commodities should be arranged by the government at a fair price and there must be an effective mechanism to curb black-marketing and hoarding, he further said.
The government should also provide remunerative prices to farmers and local producers, and inputs at a reasonable cost to boost productivity in agriculture and allied sectors, he added.
Pointing out that the worst victims of this unprecedented hike in the prices are the poor masses, the MSF general secretary said unless this is addressed, a catastrophe will take place.
He also informed that as a part of its Mount Koubru Afforestation mission, a 60-member team of MSF climbed Mount Koubru on Saturday and returned on the following day. During the mission, the team planted around 100 tree saplings at Mount Koubru range, he said.
The general secretary said that due to the clearance of forests by illegal encroachers, the ecological balance has been massively affected in the state. He also cited landslides and water shortages as side effects of deforestation.
He further mentioned that an Environment and Ecological Affairs Cell of the MSF have been formed to look into the matter of environment related affairs, and a memorandum regarding the price hike has also been submitted to the chief minister, and the CAF and PD minister.
