Chattogram: Commerce Adviser Sheikh Bashir Uddin today emphasized that no artificial crisis will be permitted in the supply chain of food and other essentials. During a views exchange meeting held at the circuit house auditorium, he stressed the need for balancing demand and supply by increasing production and involving more individuals in trading activities. "The market will not be left hostage to a few traders," he asserted. According to Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha, the adviser urged traders to change their traditional transaction systems, emphasizing the importance of maintaining transaction memos from wholesale to retail levels. "Transaction should be transparent. We want none will manipulate the market," Bashir stated, underscoring that the goal is not to criminalize individuals but to prevent market instability. Bashir pointed out that many middlemen are profiting by selling delivery orders (DO) and supply orders (SO) without handling any goods physically, a practice that he criticized. "This tendency to earn profit by selling DO or SO only has grown in their minds," he remarked, urging business leaders to abandon such practices as they disrupt the supply chain. The meeting was presided over by Chattogram Divisional Commissioner M Tofael Islam, with notable attendees including Commerce Secretary Mohammad Selim Uddin, Director General of the Directorate of Consumer Rights Protection Mohammad Aleem Akhtar Khan, TCB Chairman Brigadier General M Mostafa Iqbal, Chattogram Range DIG M Ahsan Habib Polash, and student representative Jobayrul Alam Bari.
