SIALKOT, Oct 23: District and Sessions Judge Chaudhry Muhammad Aslam has expressed his grave concern over the rising prices and quality of daily-use items being sold at all the Ramazan bazaars established in four tehsils.

Presiding over a joint meeting of judicial magistrates and district price committee here on Saturday, the D&SJ took serious notice of the public complaints in this regard and expressed dissatisfaction over the performance of Ramazan bazaars. He directed the judicial magistrates to check the prices and establish a special monitoring network at police station level.

Sialkot DCO Shafqat Ranjha, judicial magistrates, representatives of trade bodies and consumers also attended the meeting.

On the other hand, a great decline has been witnessed in the number of consumers visiting the Ramazan bazaars established at Sialkot City, Cantonment, Daska, Bhopalwala, Sambrial, Uggoki, Pasrur, Chawinda and Badiana owing to the unabated sale of substandard items and high prices. People are preferring shops in open markets to Ramazan bazaars for ensuring quality.

With the advent of the holy month, people had thronged these bazaars, but later they were disillusioned. Following the decreasing number of buyers, shopkeepers have also reduced their stalls at these bazaars.

A number of people told Dawn that the government had failed to control price-hike during Ramazan.

“We can not take any risk by purchasing substandard commodities at high prices from these bazaars,” said Bashiran Bibi (56) who was moving towards the open market for quality goods.

Sakeena Bibi (39) said, “The government can not win the hearts of the poor through Ramazan bazaars which have failed to come up to their expectations.”

Meanwhile, shopkeepers told this correspondent that they could not meet demands of the district government regarding sale of best quality items at low prices at Ramazan bazaars as they already were facing a financial crisis.

A survey shows that tomato, which was available for Rs15 to Rs16 before Ramazan, is now being sold at Rs30. The price of onion increased from Rs15 to Rs20 per kg. Potatoes are being sold at Rs25 instead of Rs15, sugar Rs30 instead of Rs27, red chilies at Rs100 per kg against Rs85. Green chilies, peas, garlic and lemon are being sold at Rs55, Rs60, Rs55 and Rs52 per kg, respectively.

Beef is being sold at Rs100 to Rs120 per kg instead of Rs80, mutton at Rs200 to 230 instead of Rs180 while milk is available for Rs24 per litre against the fixed price of Rs20.

Likewise, apple, banana, guava and grapes are being sold at Rs40 to Rs60 per kg, Rs25 to Rs30 per dozen, Rs40 per kg and Rs70 per kg, respectively. The chicken price has increased from Rs75 to Rs110 per kg while eggs are available for Rs38 to 40 per dozen.

RELIEF CAMPS: State Minister for Defence Zahid Hamid on Sunday visited various relief camps in Sialkot, Pasrur and in their surrounding areas by the army and NGOs.