RAWALPINDI: Despite tall claims made by the divisional administration, there seems no let-up in the price hike of edible items in Ramazan.

On Thursday, onions were selling at Rs300 per kg in the garrison city while its official pricewas Rs236 per kg; tomatoes were available at Rs200 per kg against the official rate of Rs145 per kg and potatoes Rs70 per kg against Rs45 per kg. Similarly, garlic was available at Rs600 per kg and ginger at Rs530 per kg.

Chicken was being sold at Rs410 per kg, mutton at Rs2000 per kg and beef at Rs1100 per kg. Milk is selling at Rs210 per kg and curd at Rs220 per kg.

On the other hand, retailers claimed that they were getting the commodities at higher rates from the wholesale market and were selling them on a small profit. They said wholesalers were responsible for the increased prices.

Retailers say they are getting edible items at higher rates from wholesalers

But the consumers refused to buy the stories narrated by the shopkeepers and the administration and said the most affected people were the salaried class as businessmen increased their profits and labourers their wages, but the salaried class did not get any increase in their salaries.

Mohammad Nasir, a resident of Arya Mohallah, complained that meat was already out of their reach and now they even could not afford buying vegetables.

Sheikh Arshad, a resident of Mohanpura, said the government had turned a blind eye to this public issue. He said common man’s economic back had already been broken by the ever-rising inflation inutility bills.

“The prices of meat will further increase incoming days as butchers have increased the prices before Ramazan,” he said.

On the other hand, Deputy Commissioner Dr Hassan Waqar Cheema told Dawn that there were two main bazaars established in the garrison city.

“One is sponsored by the government at Chur Chowk and the other at the Shamsabad park is the initiative of the district administration where wholesalers have established stalls,” he said.

He said on the first day about 3000 people visited the bazaar while today the average footfall was around 5000. He said carts had also been allocated to vendors with proper space in the wholesale Ramazan bazaar. Essential commodities are available at 25pc lower rates in the bazaar.

He reiterated that no more show-cause notices will be issued to low-performing price magistrates and they will be suspended in the next review meeting.

The DC said that there were 50 price magistrates in the district and fines were being imposed on violators. He said the crackdown against profiteers was continuing across the district and the district administration had arrested 211 profiteers during the last two weeks while a fine of Rs3.3 million was imposed on them.

The price magistrates have conducted 29,658 raids from March 1 to March 14 during which 1,697 shopkeepers were found guilty of profiteering and not displaying rate lists.

Meanwhile, the commissioner Rawalpindi during a visit to Nawaz Sharif Park bazaar took notice of a complaint by customers about the sale of tomatoes at a higher rate and investigated the matter himself. The commissioner found the wholesaler involved in overcharging and removed him with a fine of Rs50,000.

He also reviewed the quality and prices of essential items in the bazaar and inquired about the facilities from the visitors.

Published in Dawn, March 15th, 2024