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| October 8, 2005 | Saturday | Ramazan 3, 1426 |
Arrests, fines make no difference to profiteers
ISLAMABAD, Oct 7: City authorities arrested 12 shopkeepers and fined another 88 during the last two days for hiking prices of food items with the advent of Ramadan.
But the punitive actions made no impression on the trading community as the visitors to the Juma bazaars and Sasta bazaars (fair price bazaars) found that fruits, vegetables and groceries were being sold much above the prices fixed by the government in its so-called “Ramazan package”.
Similar situation prevails in other cities and towns like Rawalpindi and Taxila, reports gathered by Dawn suggest.
“It (the package) is a joke. I better had bought my Ramazan needs before the advent of the holy month,” said housewife Samina Aslam commenting on the exorbitant price of potatoes quoted to her.
Potatoes, much in demand for Iftar dishes, were being sold for Rs60 per kilograms against the official price of Rs12 and Rs20 for different grades.
Another consumer, Musa Khan, was bitter that the government seemed doing nothing to implement its Ramadan package.
Raiding teams of the capital administration on Friday arrested 56 shopkeepers and fined them Rs27,000.
The administration had arrested 11 profiteers on Thursday and fined another 32 other for overcharging on the 1st of Ramzan, an official of the administration told Dawn.
The official said the newly-appointed capital Deputy Commissioner Chaudhry Muhammad Ali had formed special teams headed by assistant commissioners and magistrates to check prices.
The Assistant Commissioner, City, Dr Ehtesham Anwar inspected Farooqia Market in F-6 and fined Rs8,000 on four shop owners for selling consumer items on exorbitant rates.
Assistant Commissioner (Rural) Dr Sajid Mehmood Chohan conducted surprise checking in Bhara Kahu area and imposed fine of Rs4,000 on 10 shopkeepers for overcharging.
Similarly the Assistant Commissioner, Saddar, Capt (retd) Zafar Iqbal inspected I-8, I-9 and G-10 Markaz and arrested 24 traders included six meat sellers, three vegetable and fruit sellers and two general-store owners. He also fined
Magistrate (rural) Malik Muhammad Afsar Khan checked markets in Humak, Sihala, Rewat and Kak Bridge area and imposed fine of Rs7,000 on 10 shop owners. The traders at various fare price bazaars were found involved in overcharging of vegetables and other commodities.
Peas were being sold at Rs60 per kg against its pre-Ramazan rate of Rs40-45. Red chilies were being sold at Rs32-35 per kg as compared to the previous rate of Rs25-28.
Garlic was also being sold at an exorbitant rate of Rs55 per kg and lemon at Rs52 per kg against their official rate of Rs45 and Rs40-42 per kg, respectively.
Similarly, ginger was being charged at Rs90 against the official rate of Rs78. Bringels and onions were available at Rs20 and Rs22-25 per kg against its actual price of Rs15 and Rs18-20.
At the fruit stalls of the bazaar, traders were mostly found selling low grade fruits at the rate of good quality. The prices of high quality banana had been fixed at Rs28 per dozen but the traders were offering a discount of Rs5 per dozen and were demanding Rs30 per dozen even for second grade bananas.
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