HYDERABAD, Sept 21: Every year the month of Ramazan passes without any meaningful relief to consumers from the government despite claims of steps to keep control on prices of essential food items. And this year also prices started moving up in Hyderabad even before the onset of Ramazan and kept going up.

Elsewhere consumers’ rights are protected by governments through checks on market forces but here only lip service is paid to ensure the same with the result that outcry against price-hike continues unabated. The main thrust of government has always been on provision of commodities through utility stores corporations (USCs) with claims of provision of sufficient supplies of food items and other edibles on subsided rates. But this year it became too difficult for consumers. Initially even the subsidised wheat was not available at USCs outlets while Ramazan had already began. Even otherwise USCs remained inaccessible to a large population.

Normally the USCs link sale of one kilogram of subsidised flour with purchase of other goods. Such condition makes provision of so-called relief meaningless for poor whose backbone has already been broken by unchecked price-hike over the years. However, USC officials deny this claim and said that consumers could buy anything they want.

Prices of consumers’ goods go up and down throughout year thanks to greed of wholesalers and other market factors -- basically responsible for imbalance in rates - whereas price regulation body that i.e. district administration fails to make its presence felt despite existence of price control mechanism. They do claim that they are imposing fine on hoarders and those violating price lists, issued by the district administration.

But district administration’s drive proves to be ineffective so far while more than half of the month has passed and now it has entered into its last leg. What otherwise should be a continued process of price monitoring, the district administration has made it an annual ritual that is observed only in Ramzan and that, too, in a cosmetic manner.

It appears that by issuing official price lists during Ramazan, the authorities considered that they have served the common man. They apparently take great pains to issue lists for wholesalers and retailers of kiryana items, meat/mutton/chicken, fruit and vegetable sellers. Despite display of such lists the prices remain in sharp contrast to ones offered by fruit vendors or retailers dealing in other edibles.

The federal government in fiscal 2006-07, had authorised revenue officers to exercise powers of special magistrates, under Essential Commodities Price Control and Prevention of Hoarding Ordinance 2006 to ensure stability in market prices of goods the whole year. However, administration didn’t invoke this jurisdiction in the rest of the year. It was only once when during milk crisis, the district government effectively handled it by exercising powers under the said Ordinance. But since then no one has seen any such attempt by local district government over what is happening in market.

Background interviews with wholesalers of rice, pulses and chillies revealed that their prices continued to record a steep rise even before Ramazan. One of them said that a chilli supplier keeps increasing rates of grained chilli merely on the basis that his product is of quality No-1. “I ask chilli dealer’s salesman to have pity on common man. But nobody among government functionary checks it”, he remarks.

Similarly, the wholesale fruit sellers attribute price inflation to imbalance in demand and supply during Ramazan because demand of fruits is increased which leads to fruits’ shortage. The prices being offered by fruit vendors to consumers are not in accordance with price lists available with them.

They, however, argue that that fruit has become a luxury for poor nowadays and for a poor family with minimum wages of Rs6000 announced by government couldn’t have access to quality fruits with a three to five member family in Ramazan. Not only they but even people belonging to middle class find it difficult to buy fruits. For buying quality fruits for a four to five member family, Rs200 per day is needed to purchase fruits for iftar which brings the total amount to Rs6,000 for whole of Ramazan.

Rates of fruits started registering rise before Ramazan. Grapes quality no-1 are being sold at Rs130 per kg, followed by quality no-2 at Rs90-Rs100; apple golden Rs50 kg, quality-2 Rs30 kg; water-melon (garma) of quality no-1 at Rs40 per kg and Rs30 for quality no-2.

The district administration’s request to provincial government to stop movement of milk outside Hyderabad for a month has not been heeded.

The milk continues to be sold at the price of Rs40 to Rs42 per litre while the district government had fixed the price at Rs35 per litre.

It was before Ramazan that district administration approached the home department to impose the restriction because the district nazim imposed it only for two consecutive days and not more than seven days in a month.