Dhaka: Observing that the hike in prices of gas and power goes counter to people’s expectation, Leader of the Opposition in Parliament Raushan Ershad on Saturday said it will cast a negative impact on public life.

In a statement, she said, ‘People had expected that the power and fuel oil tariffs to be reduced following the drastic fall of oil price on the international market. Against this backdrop, the raise in gas and power prices by the Bangladesh Energy Regulatory Commission (BERC) goes counter to people’s expectation.’

She said the raise in tariffs of the two crucial utility services will affect the public life at every level as the prices of daily essentials and transport fares and other living costs will go up.’ The people of limited income will bear the brunt of it.’

Raushan also feared that the power price hike will seriously affect the overall economy, business and investment.

She said the government should revise its decision considering the overall situation.

The opposition leader also urged the government to cut the oil prices in accordance with its falling rates on the international market.

Earlier on Thursday, the government raised the gas and powers tariff by 26.29 percent and 2.93  percent respectively on average at the consumer level with effect from 1 September next.