NAROWAL, Sept 24: The district price control committee (DPCC) has failed to check hike in the prices of essential commodities and the masses have to buy flour, vegetables and fruits at the prices escalated by 20 to 75 per cent during the holy month of Ramazan.

Shopkeepers and traders are minting money through hoarding and causing artificial shortage of daily-use commodities. The district coordination officer (DCO) has, however, denied the suggestion that the DPCC had failed to curb price-hike.

Meanwhile, sugar, ghee, fine quality flour and grams are in short supply at local utility stores.

Though some bags of flour are available at the utility store, people are not ready to buy these bags after complaints surfaced that they contained staled flour.

A citizen, Ahsan, told Dawn that the local administration was supplying 20-kilogramme (kg) flour bag at Rs 285 but people were reluctant to purchase because of poor quality of the stuff.

There are complaints that local administration is supplying substandard flour and its bread turns black when baked. The fine quality flour bag is, however, available at Rs 325.

The LPG cylinder’s price has increased from Rs560 to Rs600 during the current month, adding to the miseries of the masses.

Similarly, onions which were being sold at the rate of Rs22 per kg before Ramazan are now available at the rate of Rs25 per kg, garlic’s pre-Ramazan price was Rs40 per kg but is now available at Rs70 per kg and peas which were available at Rs55 per kg are now available at Rs80 per kg.

Also, tomato’s pre-Ramazan price was Rs32 per kg but is now available at Rs60 per kg, cabbage was earlier being sold at Rs40 per kg but now it is available at Rs55 per kg.

Prices of fruits have also witnessed a rising trend. Pomegranates which were available at Rs60 per kg before Ramazan are now being sold at Rs100 per kg, apple’s pre-Ramazan prices were Rs40-60 per kg but currently being sold at Rs60-80 per kg, dates were available at Rs40 per kg but now they are available at Rs80 per kg. Also, bananas’ pre-Ramazan prices were Rs25 per dozen but now they are being sold at Rs40 per dozen.

Locals, including Raza Ali, Kamran and Asad, said earlier the prices of meat went beyond the reach of common man but now the prices of vegetables were not far behind and going beyond the purchasing power of the commoners.

They alleged that claims of Prime Minister Shaukat Aziz and Chief Minister Pervaiz Elahi regarding supply of foodstuff items on cheap prices were hollow and the government had failed to provide any kind of relief to the poor and middle-class people during the holy month of Ramazan.

Rashida Bibi and Nasira Begum, who were shopping in a local market, told Dawn that prices have gone up skyrocketing and they had never seen such a price-hike ever before. They alleged that officials deputed to control prices were not discharging their duties efficiently and they always turned a deaf ear to public complaints. Both the women said government’s senior officials were taking rest in their air-conditioned offices and residences and they had no sympathy with the common man suffering at the hands of hoarders and profiteers.

DCO Tahir Yousaf, who is also chairman of the DPCC, said teams of district administration were in the field to check overcharging effectively.

He said the district government would not hesitate in getting criminal cases registered against traders and shopkeepers involved in hoarding and profiteering.