SWABI: The district price review committee is unable to keep check on prices of daily use items as a result profiteers are fleecing consumers in Swabi bazaars.

The consumers at different markets told Dawn that it was the responsibility of the committee to fix the prices of daily use commodities and then ensure that the traders, vegetable and fruit sellers sold items accordingly, but profiteering was going on without any fear.

The district food controller, officials of the district administration and district president of Anjuman-i-Dokandaran are members of the price committee, which finalises the price list daily and distributes it among traders, vegetable and fruit sellers in district headquarters and four tehsils of the district.

“We pay Rs15 for the price list every day, but this paper has no worth at all. We don’t care about the prices mentioned in the list and charged the people on the basis of prevailing trend in the local markets,” said a vegetable seller in Topi vegetable market.

“No consumer is part of the price determining committee so we are always at the receiving end,” said Gul Bahar of Maneri Bala.

“In British era there was great value of price lists, but now it is only a paper which is totally neglected by shopkeepers,” said a retired Wapda employee, Shamasur Rehman. He said prices of vegetables ranged from market to market.

It was seen that butchers were charging consumers Rs240 to Rs250 for per one kilogram beef against the officially fixed price of Rs230 per kg. Similarly, mutton price was Rs430 per kilogram but butchers took Rs540 from people.

Mr Rehman alleged that traders always refused to show them the price lists and told them to find the same at the offices of the district administration.

When contacted, a concerned official said that those who violated the price list had been fined. However, he failed to disclose how many traders had been fined during the current month.