THE apprehension that the common man's woes, caused by the phenomenal price hike in food commodities, are going to get worse with the passage of time is coming true. With the present state of the government's understanding of the people's plight, it seemed inevitable that the jacking up of the prices of petroleum products and CNG would be followed by substantial rise in rates for the consumption of electricity and other utility services. Yesterday's newspapers reveal that the authorities have, in principle, decided to charge from domestic consumers an additional 60 paisas per unit use of electricity to become effective from the next month. One would not deny the compulsions behind the decision, but it is the failure to evolve a suitable strategy for providing relief to the general public, despite loud promises, that is causing concern about the government's ability to address a host of other problems of the people.