LAHORE, Aug 12: The All Pakistan PWD Workers Zonal Union has criticized the government for giving a free hand to retailers to loot consumers by abolishing the price control system.

Union President Abdul Hamid Butt and Secretary-General Muhammad Aslam said in a statement that the system of price control committees at tehsil, district, division and provincial levels had been abolished under the devolution plan with the result that the retailers were absolutely free to charge their customers at will without any fear of being punished.

They said that the salaried people were hard hit not only due to unchecked overcharging by the retailers but also frequent increases in rates of utility bills and POL prices. Some of them unable to make both ends meet were even resorting to suicides. The never-ending ban on recruitments was also spreading despondency among the unemployed youth.