SWABI, Aug 1: The district administration here has failed to bring any sort of stability in prices and relief for the people during the ongoing month of Ramazan, as the traders and vendors across Swabi continue to overcharge consumers without any check.

During visits to different markets in the district, it was noted that the price control committees and officials of the district administration did not bother to visit the markets and check or monitor prices.

The consumers said that they knew that no one would come to solve their problems and that was why they had been paying high prices for the commodities. They said that the tehsil municipal administration staff as usual had been distributing the price lists among traders daily, but they never bothered to implement the official prices.

They said that every fruit and vegetable seller had displayed the price list and when the consumers asked them about quality or price of fruit or vegetable each of them would retort “We sell the best quality”.

Different prices are charged in different areas of the district. For example, ladyfinger is available in Swabi at Rs35 per kilogramme, while in Topi tehsil the shopkeepers are charging Rs50 for the same.

Same is the case of other vegetables and fruits. Salim Khan of Maneri Bala said that tomato was being sold at Rs100 per kilogramme from day one of Ramazan. He said that usually the vendors in Topi raised prices of fruit and vegetable during this holy month.

Apple is being sold at Rs260 per kg in Topi market, but in Swabi the same could be bought for Rs 190, said Abdul Samad of Topi city. He said that consumers of Chota Lahor and Razaar tehsils had also been forced to pay more than the actual prices of fruits and other commodities because of no official check on prices.

A good quality banana was available at Rs80 per dozen before Ramazan, but now it could be bought for Rs150-Rs170 in the local market.

Abid Ali of Kotha village said that the district administration also failed to control meat prices and the butchers had been selling beef at Rs300 per kg as against the official rate of Rs220.

When contacted, the officials however said that they had been regularly monitoring the prices of commodities in Ramazan.