KARACHI: City council to take up meat price issue today
By Aamir Shafaat Khan
KARACHI, Nov 4: Meat merchants have set their eyes on the outcome of city council’s meeting, in which city Nazim Naimatullah Khan will decide whether to enforce or put on hold the notification about the meat prices, agreed upon by the merchants and acting city Nazim on Friday night.
However, the Meat Merchants’ Welfare Association (MMWA) is eagerly waiting for the issuance of notification by the city Nazim on Wednesday in line with the agreed prices.
In case the Nazim refused to raise the meat price, we would have no option but to go for a shutter down again, MMWA General Secretary Iqbal Qureshi said while referring to the unanimous decision taken in an association members’ meeting on Tuesday.
“The association has printed 6,000 price lists but it has suspended the distribution of the same till the Nazim takes any decision on Wednesday,” he said.
To a query, pertaining to association’s reaction in case the city Nazim makes changes in the rates, he said the association only wanted the Nazim to reply in “Yes or No” regarding the prices agreed upon by the acting Nazim.
However, the city government had neither contacted the association members, nor it invited them to attend Tuesday meeting, he added.
Mr Qureshi said the new list stated that the prices had been fixed with the consultation of the city government. The price list placed the rate of beef with bones at Rs75 per kg and that of boneless beef at Rs95 per kg, he said, adding that the rate of bachia beef (small cow) of no1 and no2 qualities had been fixed at Rs90 and Rs80 per kg in the list. The new list did not carry the rate of boneless meat, while the prices of three qualities of mutton had been fixed at Rs170, Rs155 and Rs135 per kg, he said.
The DCO and EDO are expected to propose to the city Nazim, in today’s meeting, to remain firm on the price notification issued during Ramazan.
“I will ask the city Nazim to implement the price list issued by the DCO, earlier, as it is in the best interest of the public,” EDO, Enterprises and Investment Promotion, city government, M Raeesuddin Paracha said.
City Nazim has to make a difficult decision today, regarding issuance of a notification in line with Friday’s meeting or to flatly refuse the revision of prices agreed between the acting Nazim and the MMWA and to call upon meat merchants to come up with a consumer-friendly package by reviewing the prices again.
The city Nazim can also go for third option by fixing average meat and beef prices. For instance, Rs160 per kg may be fixed for grade one mutton, which will be the middle price as compared to city government’s earlier Rs150 and the new price of Rs170 per kg, as fixed at Friday meeting.
The sources said that the meat price issue had now become politicised with the intervention of the Muttahida Majlis-i-Amal, otherwise the officials of the city government had fixed consumer-friendly rates, later revised by Tariq Hassan on Friday.
A market analyst remarked that MMA and PML members, who had been given the mandate to defend the interest of people and term themselves public representatives, were now acting against the public interest, whereas the bureaucracy (DCO and EDO), usually accused of being indifferent to public sentiments, was now trying to prove its concern for the public interest, while the meat merchants, irrespective of any political consideration, were first traders and were desirous of increasing their profit instead of giving any relief to the consumers.
So far, the federal government has played silent spectator in the row. To the utter surprise of consumers, the Economic Coordination Committee (ECC) has shown its satisfaction over the prices of edible items.
Already perturbed by rising meat prices, the consumers have to face yet another menace of paying rupee one to three extra to buy flour from Monday. Atta no2.5 is selling at Rs11 to Rs14 per kg, depending on the area, much higher than the officially fixed rate of Rs10.50 per kg.
The 10 kg bag of fine atta was being sold at Rs120 to Rs125, as compared to its original price of Rs105.
“I have taken up the matter of rising flour prices with Sindh Food secretary on Tuesday,” EDO, Raeesuddin Paracha said, adding that the wholesalers were accusing the flour mill owners of charging high rates.
