PESHAWAR, July 27: In view of growing complaints about hoarding and profiteering, Chief Minister Ameer Haider Khan Hoti has warned that creating artificial shortage and hoarding of essential food items during the holy month of Ramazan will not be tolerated and stern actions would be taken against those found guilty. He also asked the Peshawar Electricity Supply Company (Pesco) to ensure power supply during Sehr and Iftar times.

Talking to members of the provincial assembly from different political parties during his weekly meetings on Wednesday, the chief minister also said that he had directed all the commissioners and district authorities to undertake all possible measures to control price-hike during Ramazan.

Mr Hoti said that the provincial government had taken all measures at all levels for maintaining moderate prices of essential commodities. He said that the committees constituted in this connection were fully functional in all districts. He said that the elements involved in creating artificial shortage and hoarding would be punished.

The chief minister asked the Pesco authorities to conduct minimum loadshedding during the holy month and avoid outages during Sehr and Iftar.

During the meeting, Mr Hoti also expressed sympathies over life and material losses during recent rains and asked the MPAs for creating awareness among the people for removal of encroachments to ensure smooth drainage of rain and flood water.

In another meeting, chaired by the commissioner Peshawar division, the DCOs, DPOs, magistrates and all other relevant officers of the Peshawar, Charsadda and Nowshera districts discussed the price control strategy.

The commissioner showed his concern over the poor performance of magistrates, noting that hoarding and profiteering were continuing unchecked in some areas of the districts.

He said that Peshawar should be a model for other districts as far as the price control strategy was concerned, asking the participants to ensure daily checking of prices in the bazaars.

The DCOs told the meeting that price review committees in all the three districts had already fixed the prices of essential commodities. The commissioner asked them to establish control room in their respective offices so as complaints with regard to prices were received and addressed properly. On this occasion, the local police was directed to extend full assistance to special price magistrates.

Meanwhile, in the absence of any official checking, the shopkeepers and vendors have been indulging in profiteering in Mansehra and its suburbs.

Though the price review and control committee has enhanced the prices of almost all the essential commodities earlier this week, the traders are charging even higher prices in violation of the rate lists issued by the district administration. The shopkeepers and vegetable and fruit venders even do not bother to display the price list.

“The district administration has enhanced the price of meat from Rs170 per kg to Rs180 per kg a few days ago, but the butchers are selling the meat at Rs200 per kg,” said a resident Basharat Ali.

He said that in the absence of any check on prices the people were forced to buy the daily-use items at high prices.

Another resident Nasir Ahmed said that in some areas butchers were selling meat treated with water to increase its weight. Besides, consumption of such meat is also dangerous for human consumption.

Other residents complained that rice, pulses, ghee and other commodities were also being sold at prices higher than those fixed by the district government.

In Lakki Marwat, District Coordination Officer Nisar Ahmad has expressed his anger over the poor performance of price magistrates and warned them to perform their duties. He was chairing a meeting on Wednesday, which was also attended by deputy district officer revenue Samar Gul, district food controller Nazirur Rehman and assistant food controller Din Mohammad.

The DCO asked the officials to ensure check on prices throughout the year as this was not the issue for Ramazan only. “The district administration will ensure presence of police personnel along with price magistrates during their visits to bazaars and markets in Ramazan,” he said.

He asked the officials to send the violators of official price list and those selling substandard foodstuffs to jail. — Correspondents/APP