Bangladesh; Riots broke out over the 52% increase in petroleum products

 Dhaka: Riots erupted in Bangladesh after the prices of petroleum products hit record highs and thousands of protesters surrounded fuel stations.

According to the World News Agency, the government of Bangladesh has announced an increase in the price of petrol by 51.7% and the price of diesel by 42.5%. Petrol price increased from 89 taka to 135 taka while diesel price went up to 114 taka.

The petroleum ministry says the latest price hike at the retail level is to reduce the subsidy burden on state-owned oil distribution companies. The country cannot afford more subsidies.

Read this news: Bangladesh has sought a loan of 4.5 billion dollars from the IMF

It should be noted that this is the highest increase in the prices of petroleum products in the history of Bangladesh. After which riots broke out across the country and thousands of protesters surrounded the fuel stations.

The protesters termed the increase as the worst inflationary tsunami and demanded the government to reduce prices immediately. Clashes also took place between police and protesters at many places.

Bangladesh has recently applied to the IMF for a $4 billion loan.

The finance minister of Bangladesh says that the economy is stable, but since the Ukraine-Russia war, there are difficulties in the balance of payments due to the rapid increase in the prices of gasoline products and the high flight of the dollar.