While adjusting their budget and choosing between areas of expenditure, people are now compelled to ignore many basic needs including healthcare.

"I cannot buy fruits or vegetables for their high prices, which has ultimately affected the nutrition level of my family," said Shikha Teresa, an NGO health worker. "Transport costs also have almost doubled in the last few months whereas my salary remained fixed."

Advocate Sumaiya Islam said she has never seen prices of essentials go so high. She said 2.5-pound Nido powder milk, which she bought at Tk 800 from the New Market last year, now sells at Tk 1600.

"To meet my children's nutrition and education expenses, I cannot go to doctors for my personal health check-up," Sumaiya said, adding that the high prices of essentials and even household materials have forced them to consume less.

She said she now prefers using public buses to comfortable and smooth transport to save money as her income has not increased in line with the price hikes.

At the kitchen markets in the capital, mutton is selling at Tk 260-270 per kilogram, which was Tk 200-220 in January, and beef at Tk 160 that was Tk 100-120. Broiler chicken is being sold at Tk 95-100, but it was sold at Tk 60-65 just two months back. The local chickens sell at Tk 280 that was not more than Tk 150.

Prices of all varieties of fish also shot up steeply. At the Karwan Bazar fish market 1kg local variety catfish was found selling at Tk 400, ruhi at Tk 420, small ruhi at Tk 110-120, koi at Tk 400-450, and taki at Tk 110.

Onion is being sold at Tk 25 a kg, which is Tk 5 higher than that of previous week, pulses at Tk 58, Tk 6 higher, gram at Tk 52, Tk 7 higher, garlic at Tk 110, Tk 20 higher.

Prices of almost all vegetables saw a sharp rise mainly due to shortage of supply and the lean season, traders at different kitchen markets said.

Prices of potato, tomato, aubergine, carrot, chilli, papaya went almost 20-25 per cent higher in just one week.

Traders and common people identified price hike of fuel and agriculture products including fertiliser and seeds as the major reasons for price hike of essentials. Hoarding of essentials by unscrupulous syndicates has also contributed to the hike, they said.

Siddique Hawlader, a vegetables trader at Karwan Bazar who buys vegetables from Savar and sells in the city, said, "It has become harder for us to make profit from selling vegetables. I buy vegetables at Tk 6 per kg, but it has become very difficult to sell it at Tk 8-10 as customers are buying less at such high price. Now, if I sell the vegetable at less than Tk 8, it will not yield any profit."

Restaurant business is also suffering in the wake of price hike of vegetables, rice, meat, fish and other essentials.

"Despite the high price of food items we cannot increase the price of meals. So, to make some profits we try to adjust by lessening the quantity. Nevertheless, the profit is much less now," said Arif, a restaurant owner at Karwan Bazar.

Shortage of fuel supply halted movements of around 60 per cent inter-district vehicles on Saturday, mainly from the vegetables rich northern districts.

It did not have any impact on vegetables supply until yesterday, but the impact may be severe if such situation continues for another two or three days, traders at Karwan Bazar feared.