January 12, 2008	Saturday	Muharram 02,1429

KARACHI, Jan 11: Excluding the chakki atta, the City government has decided to check the price hike of all varieties of wheat flour at the retailers’ end, thus ensuring that it does not exceed the official retail rate of Rs17.50 a kilogram.

A city government official said the officials tasked to check profiteering had started implementing price checks on all the varieties except chakki atta and efforts were made to make headway on Thursday.

However, according to a market survey, the price checking campaign, initiated on Wednesday had not created any tangible impact as only 161 retailers had been fined for overcharging in the last three days across the city.

A majority of retailers were avoiding lifting flour from mills at Rs17 per kg (ex-mill rate) as they thought that selling at Rs17.50 per kg at retail was not feasible as the government fixed price did not include the transport and labour charges. As a result, the subsidized mill flour also remained in short supply in major markets.

Karachi Retail Grocers Group (KRGG) General Secretary Farid Qurieshi also confirmed that the retailers were avoiding lifting the flour at the ex-mill rate of Rs17 per kg.

On the other hand, consumers continued to face hardship in finding the chakki and fine wheat flour. Only a few retailers in various areas sold chakki and fine flour, and that too at exorbitant rates.

Officials are mainly checking violations of official price by retailers in the main markets while a large number of shopkeepers doing business inside the residential areas enjoyed a free hand in fleecing the consumers.

Like the previous days, the mill flour at Rs17.50 per kg or Rs18 per kg was seen in only a few stores in the main markets. The shopkeepers in residential areas have yet to sell the low-priced flour. A large number of retailers in the main markets `apologised’ to consumers for the non-availability of the mill flour.

Some shopkeepers had kept both the mill flour and other flour varieties, but most of them were seen cautioning consumers that the mill flour at Rs17.50 per kg could not be exchanged or refunded in case the consumers found it unsatisfactory in quality.

“We are not giving any guarantee of quality for the mill flour. Once the customer purchases the flour, it becomes his property and we are not responsible for it,” a shopkeeper in Samanabad was heard telling a customer.

He said many customers had given a lukewarm response to the mill flour despite its low price and only the lower class and poor people were inquiring about it.

“It is the same flour that is also available at the utility stores,” he said, adding that many quality-conscious consumers, who had bought flour at the state-run stores, were not satisfied with it as they complained of a smell in the flour and even questioned its colour.

“The utility store flour and the Rs17.50 per kg flour are produced from old wheat stocks and that is why sometimes it gives a strange odour,” the shopkeeper said.

At Water Pump in F.B Area, the Rs17.50 per kg atta was not available. Even many shopkeepers said they even did not have the chakki and fine flour and even the Ashrafi brand fine atta.

Shopkeepers were asking the customers to buy chakki and fine flour from the shops situated in their residential areas.

While consumers continued to face problems in getting all the flour varieties, the city government on Thursday imposed a fine of Rs123,000 on 81 retailers, besides sending six people behind bars in areas like Clifton, Jamshed Town and Malir.

The official heading the price checking campaign said that out of the 81 shopkeepers, Korangi topped with 18 retailers found overcharging followed by 14 in North Nazimabad, nine in Bin Qasim, eight in Keamari, seven in Gulshan, six each in Jamshed Town, Baldia and Landhi, three in Site, two each in Malir and Clifton.