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Ramazan price storm here again! By Nusrat Nasarullah FOR all the ceremonial shouting and screaming that has already been initiated with a familiar rhetoric, one is inclined to join in with some of us who are curiously asking “Whose panic is it, anyway?” This suggests that not everybody is affected by what is being described as an exorbitant hike in prices ahead of Ramadan. The holy month unfolds about two weeks from now. But those who are unaffected by these prices that have been raised (and still being raised) are mentioned only in passing. They are being underlined merely because they enable the availability of a sad, even ugly contrast between the haves and the have-nots in this society. For all the newspaper stories about prices of foodstuffs rising before Ramazan, and the anxious conversations of ordinary people, these affluent upper class people are perfect portraits of composure and leisurely nonchalance whenever they are seen in public, at shopping stores or grocery outlets. In private lives, they do not know what is happening to the common man. And even if the common man in town is affected, he is either naïve in his optimism that this year will be different from the previous Ramazan or the umpteen that we have seen, or he has the twin combination of cynicism and pessimism. Does this explain his impatience and anger that is often demonstrated anywhere in town? The frustration that he has with regard to prices is reflected in his interpersonal relationships, all the time. One Karachiite summed it up very well when he said that rising prices in fact humiliate the citizen. The clever scheming defiance of the business community, the manipulation of the traders, and the apparent sustained inability of the concerned authorities to ensure a fair price within a manageable supply and demand scenario raise many questions, many suspicions, in fact. For all the scams and collusions that come to light from time to time, there are many misgivings that have come to be heard. And this is how one Karachiite interpreted the price rise scenario that has surfaced this Ramazan as well. The prices are raised well before the authorities swing into traditional action and when that happens a nominal decrease is announced, which is anyway more than what the prices before the increase were. I still hope this is not the game that is played. Traders play games and some call it cheating. I was talking to Rahim Baksh, who complained that the prices of milk and yogurt had been increasing steadily in recent months. He said the milk sellers had agreed to hold back another increase, which they were bent on, and would implement it after Ramazan. I heard him and suggested that there was no way of knowing how much water was added to the milk that was being sold. After all milk sellers cannot be expected to lower profits for the benefit of society. Rahim Baksh was surprised at this water option. It seemed that he had forgotten about it. He appeared surprised, and became silent. That was end of the discussion on milk. But, seriously speaking the subject of rising prices and Ramazan is an opportunity to reflect about the absence of any ethical norms that should otherwise be in evidence in the Holy Month of Ramazan. You can apply this to the other sectors as well. Citizens in this town and elsewhere in the land wonder why traffic police do not mend their ways in this month. One is saying nothing new, in a way, as Ramazan draws near. And once again, when it begins one would like to see what is different this time. Keep your fingers crossed, dear reader. Taking into account all the previous months of Ramazan, it is relevant to take notice of the announcement that the city government has asked traders to submit price lists (for Ramazan) and reports indicate the date for this as Sept 10. And that is today. When will the new rates be effective and enforced? Another question that comes up once again is whether there is adequate machinery to implement whatever is decided upon to check ruthless profiteering? Is there enough, efficient human resource to enforce the policies and decisions that the authorities may come up with? The scale of the profiteering problem is far too vast in this city. Traders are a well-organised lot and as a vested interest group they are a hard nut to crack. More than that, perhaps, is the issue of consumer resistance, a concept that is much trumpeted at seminars held in posh hotels, and in panel discussions on private and state-owned television channels. Ironically, simplicity and austerity that should be demonstrated in Ramazan are grossly undervalued at Iftari in particular. Sheer indulgence, and for no reason, remarked one gentleman who does fast, regularly. “Why do people overeat at Iftar?” he wondered. High Ramazan prices vis-à-vis kitchen items and expensive Eid shopping on the one hand, and look at the spectacle of Iftar parties that are overcrowded in the hotels and restaurants. “What is all this noise and complaining about high prices, if not hypocrisy?” wonder many citizens. From such individuals one has often heard references being made to all the shopping centres and markets, and bazaars that are coming up in this city, and which are forever crowded even jam-packed at times. Or the expensive restaurants that are thriving and more in the pipeline. And don’t forget the fact that the political leadership has restored the one-dish meal, which in effect is more than a single item. It is almost a full course, remarked some parents who have unmarried sons and daughters to manage weddings for. The argumentative amongst us point to the new cars and other imported expensive items on sale in this very city, and wonder what is real: kitchen prices skyrocketing or the large, regular, colorful advertising all around us, propelling consumerism that is beginning to make the discerning amongst us to raise eye brows at times. The critics contend that this is a distorted face of economic development wherein the country’s financial managers have been unable to ensure that there is an adequate trickle down effect of the cream at the top. As a former judge of the Supreme Court said in a television programme this week that the fruit of this development was restricted to the upper class while the common man was carrying more burden than ever before of rising prices of kitchen-related items. There are efforts and promises to try and give to the people a relief on the score of prices in Ramazan. Whether it has sustained credibility or not, time will soon tell.
