December 20, 2006	Wednesday	Ziqa'ad 28, 1427

KARACHI, Dec 19: Despite imposition of heavy fines on milk-sellers by the city government officials during the last one week, milk is still being sold at Rs30 a litre as against its control rate of Rs28.

A city government official said around Rs100,000 were recovered from 43 milk retailers for overcharging during the last one week. He admitted that milk was still not being sold at the official rate, but said efforts were being made to ensure price stability at retail as well as at wholesale level.

He said it was perhaps for the first time that some leading milk wholesalers have been booked for over-pricing. The city governments’ price checking drive has virtually fizzled out, and during the last few years, milk prices have increased from Rs 23 a litre to Rs 30.

Retailers know that after paying fines, it is easy to recover the amount from consumers by selling sub-standard milk or by adding more water, said a consumer, adding “paying fine means that a retailer is now free to indulge in profiteering for the next few days as there would be no follow-up raids on the same retailer.”

On Monday, the police raided dairy farms and took away the joint secretary of Dairy Farmers Association Karachi, Dr Rafiquddin Babar, and Asghar Gujar, son of DFAK president Haji Akhtar. Later, the two were released after they paid fine to the tune of Rs 10,000 and Rs 5,000, respectively.

Besides, the city government also initiated their price checking campaign against fruit and vegetable traders but consumers are yet to see any fruitful results of the campaign.

Only eight to 10 officials are active in monitoring prices of vegetables and fruits, out of total 36 who have been given magisterial powers.

A majority of the fruit and vegetable vendors are not being issued price-lists on a daily basis at the New Subzi Mandi. Even those who get the lists are reluctant to display, forcing the people to pay more.

Since the price checking campaign will continue the whole year, the officials of the city government are slow in tackling the price issue, consumers said.

Market analysts said that every price checking campaign during the last few years has failed to produce any results and prices continue to rise despite massive recovery of fines.

On Monday, the city government and Karachi Retail Grocers Group (KRGG) held a meeting in which the government side wanted fixation of retail rate of kiryana items. However, retailers flatly refused and asked the officials to first talk to the wholesalers.