December 1, 2003	Monday	Shawwal 6, 1424

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KOHAT, Nov 30: Fruit and vegetable traders have demanded that the Afghan refugees must be barred from taking part in bidding for fruits and vegetables in the local market to control the prices and increase job opportunities for the local people.

The local fruit and vegetable market caters to the needs of three districts and as many tribal agencies.

Kohat Fruit and Vegetable Market Association President Sharifullah Khan, when asked to comment on the demand, said here on Sunday that more than 70 per cent of the business was in the control of Afghan refugees in the area.

The Afghan refugees, who out-numbered the local businessmen, offered extraordinarily high rates during the bidding, which raised prices of fruits and vegetables in the local market, he added.

Mr Khan further said that they did not accept the rates fixed by the market association and charged the customers according to their will with the connivance of the municipal committee staff and the police. As a result, the worst kind of price-hike was witnessed during Ramazan, he pointed out.

All the refugees in the business, he alleged, supplied free fruits and vegetables to the MC staff and all the police stations as bribe.

On Saturday last, he said, they had fixed the rate of banana at Rs35 per dozen, but the Afghans sold it between Rs40 and Rs45 per dozen.

The district price control committee had also miserably failed to check the violation of rates fixed by the market stakeholders, he further said.

A survey conducted by Dawn also revealed that the nanbais, who were mostly Afghans, charged Rs4 per 100 grams of roti against the same rate fixed for a 150-gram roti.

The district council had called a meeting of the tandoor owners before Ramazan to ensure that roti was sold at fixed rate according to its weight, but they threatened to go on strike and the administration succumbed to the pressure.

Local Nanbais Association Chairman Lal Khan, when contacted, said the flour was sold at exorbitant rates during Ramazan despite the fact that the government had announced relief for the people.

To a question, he said there were 67 registered tandoors in the city, whereas the actual number was more than 180.

The rest were owned by Afghan refugees. Similarly, majority of the registered tandoors were also owned by the Afghans, who got these registered with the association after obtaining national identity cards for themselves, Mr Khan added.