June 23, 2007	Saturday	Jamadi-us-Sani 07, 1428

KARACHI, June 22: After skipping the price list for May 15 to June 15, the City District Government Karachi (CDGK) has again come out with a price list of 66 retail items without mentioning the wholesale rates. The exercise apparently seems to meet a mere formality rather than a serious attempt to safeguard the interest of consumers.

The list would be valid until July 18, 2007. Like the past practice the retailers and market players have again rejected the price list saying that they cannot sell the items on these rates as they are either below or above the prevailing wholesale rates.

The list carries the price of low consumption items like mash, moong and atta (bajra), but it does not carry rates of running items like sugar, ghee and cooking oil etc.

Despite the regular issuance of price lists since Ramazan 2006, consumers had neither seen its implementation at the retail stage nor its display at retail outlets of the city.

Consumers are at the mercy of thousands of city’s retailers, who charge prices on their own depending on the area as the CDGK has yet to start the price checking campaign seriously.

Besides, the city government officials, who had been invested with magisterial powers in last Ramazan for the whole year, had not even bothered to monitor the sale of items as per the official price list at the retail stores. After Ramazan, there have been no reports of challans and fines imposed on retailers for violating the official price list.

The main focus of the city government has been on the fresh milk retailers after Ramazan 2006, but ultimately the consumers have suffered by paying Rs2 to 4 per liter more since a legal battle on fixing price between the retailers and the CDGK is still going on at the High Court.

Names of some of the market players and retailers had been included in the price list with their telephone numbers so that consumers could lodge complaints with them. But in reality they are not happy over the inclusion of their names in the list without their consent.

President Jodia Bazar Traders Association (JBTA) Jaffer Kudia said that his name had been included in the list without his permission. He added that the rates had been fixed unilaterally without any consultation.

He said even other market players, whose names are printed on the price list, were not satisfied. Market sources said that the CDGK officials are putting up pressure on the retailers to display the list otherwise they would face a legal action when magistrates would visit the markets. But retailers are not ready to follow the orders owing to reservations on retail prices.

They said that some 20,000 price lists had been published by the CDGK, which are not enough to meet the needs of the city with over 100,000 retailers.

For instance, a retailer said that the gram pulse price had been fixed at Rs34 per kg at retail while it is selling between Rs35-37 per kg in the market depending on the quality. Even the wholesale rates of gram pulse ranges between Rs32-33 per kg so how they can sell it at Rs34 per kg for premium quality. He said that the CDGK had actually issued the price list keeping in view the rates of last month, which had now changed as per demand and supply mechanism in the market.

The city government had come out with a price-list of 51 items on March 10, in collaboration with the Water Pump Welfare Association, in which rates were fixed on the higher side compared to prevailing market rates.

On April 25, the government again came out with a new list on its own, which was effective till May 15.

Sources said that the CDGK had engaged some unknown market players in compiling the price list. They said that the real retail and wholesalers’ associations, which had been involved with the CDGK for many years, had been sidelined.

A city government official, who has been assigned to check prices, tried to defend the lethargic attitude of the officials in checking prices. He said that the government had been checking prices and the proper display of list at the stores.

However, he said that magistrates were also involved in other official duties owing to which consumers had yet to see the effectiveness of the campaign.