LAHORE: More trouble is brewing for Lahorites in the form of severe shortage of vegetables and milk if the blockade of entry points to Lahore continued for another day or so.
The ‘security measures’ taken by the provincial administration also caused shortage of loose milk in several parts of the city where it was hard to find the essential liquid in packaged form.
The worst-hit have been the residents of various blocks of Model Town and Faisal Town as they have practically been put under `house arrest.’
The town municipal administrations of the City District Government Lahore somehow arranged the weekly Sunday Bazaars at Shadman, Islampura, Gulshan-i-Ravi, Tajpura, Wahdat Colony, Johar and Green towns besides Shahdara where acute shortage of vegetables was witnessed as only onions and potatoes were available there.
While absence of an effective price control mechanism had been allowing profiteers, stockists and black marketers to trigger price spiral, short supply of vegetables also provided a rare opportunity to retailers to charge at will in all parts of the provincial metropolis on Sunday.
The situation was no different at the Sunday Bazaars as the officials concerned were missing and only onions and potatoes were available.
Tomato was seen at Shadman and Wahdat Colony Sunday Bazaar in the morning but was sold at Rs100 per kilo against the fixed price of Rs68 and Rs70 per kilo. Last week tomatoes were sold between Rs40 and Rs50 per kg. In the open market, tomatoes were being sold between Rs120 and Rs150 per kg. Potatoes were available between Rs42 and Rs63 per kg, onions between Rs33 and Rs35 per kg.
A number of wholesale dealers at the Badami Bagh vegetable and fruit market told this reporter that they had been waiting for their merchandise since Friday night.
Traders at Multan Road and Singhpura wholesale markets said that vehicles carrying the agricultural produce could not make it to Lahore due to the containers and barbed wires placed at all entry points.
Businessmen at the three markets said trolleys and trucks carrying vegetables from Sheikhupura, Kamoke, Kasur, Okara were intercepted by law-enforcement agencies outside Lahore on Friday night. Only a limited number of pick-ups could reach the Multan Road vegetable and fruit market.
A survey revealed that certain vegetables were either not available or being sold at double the Friday’s prices at retail shops at Datanagar, Badami Bagh, Misri Shah, Wasanpura, Ghoray Shah main bazaar, Gol Bagh in Shadbagh, Daroghawala main bazaar, Makkah Colony and Guru Mangat Road in Gulberg.
Since most milkmen could not reach Ichhra, Mozang, Samanabad, Saidpur, Shahnoor and Thokar Niaz Beg on Multan Road, Bakar Mandi and Sherakot, Gulshan-i-Ravi, Sanda, Islampura, Rajgarh, Santnagar and Ravi Road, powdered milk was in great demand at the groceries there.
During summer, Lahorites consume 1.2 million litre loose and around 300,000 litre branded or packed milk in 24 hours. In addition to 200 or so mini-trucks and tankers, over 700 people on motorcycles and as many on bicycles bring milk daily from villages along the canal from Lal Pul up to Wagah, Ghazi Road, Baidian Road, Ferozepur Road up to Kasur, Raiwind Road up to Jatti Umra, Multan Road up to Sahiwal, Vehari, Arifwala, Burewala, Okara, Chichawatni, Motorway and GT Road up to Sargodha, Sharaqpur, Sheikhupura and Gujranwala roads.
Published in Dawn, August 11th, 2014