KARACHI, Oct 31: Instead of raising a hue and cry over the non-availability of meat in the city amid strike by meat sellers, people at large have generally welcomed the decision saying it was better to do away with meat consumption than being subjected to constant blackmailing by the meat merchants.

Meat merchants started an indefinite strike on Thursday in protest against the city government’s move to fix meat prices as part of its exercise to prevent profiteers from making undue gains in the holy month of Ramazan. It has prescribed separate prices of mutton and beef of two categories each. However, meant merchants are not ready to accept the prices maintaining that the city government’s move was an arbitrary decision.

As against the city government’s recommended price of Rs150 for one kilogramme of mutton, the meat merchants resorted to charge Rs200 per kg prompting the CDGK to come hard on the profiteers and defiant merchants. It warned them of prosecution and penalties if they continued to burden the already hard pressed consumers unnecessarily and unjustifiably in the holy month. The warning led the Meat Merchants’ Welfare Association to enforce the strike.

The city-wide strike, however, failed to impress the CDGK which remained unmoved and decided not to bow to the pressure, which it deemed as blackmailing, from the other side. They could not be allowed to keep people fleecing, it maintained.

It may be noted that the concerned authorities in the past had never acted in favour of general public despite the fact that meat sellers resort to increase meat prices arbitrarily. This time, however, the city government has taken a firm stand which has widely been appreciated as an appropriate response towards establishing writ of law.

“It is good for us that meat sellers have stopped sales which otherwise was a burden on us,” Nasreen Akhtar, a housewife, said while commenting on the meat sellers’ strike.

Another housewife, Nayyar Shaikh, said: “Formation of consumers’ resistance societies has become essential now to counter the blackmailing tactics of such traders.”

A number of activists representing various NGOs also came out with full support to the city government in its resolve not to bow to the threatening posture of the striking meat sellers.

“Why not fix meat prices at Rs400 per kg in the greater interest of the meat sellers?” chairman of a local NGO remarked sarcastically.

While many a people, talking to APP, expressed their determination not to buy meat at an exorbitantly high rates, those coming from lower-middle (salaried) and lower class appeared confident that the strike would help them switch over to chicken, fish and vegetables. They wished the strike to continue for a maximum possible period of time.

Meanwhile, Chairman of the Consumers Association of Pakistan (CAP) Kaukab Iqbal said here on Friday that consumers were not at all prepared to accept meat prices higher than those fixed by the city government.

In a statement, he urged the city government not to budge on blackmailing by meat merchants.

He maintained that the meat merchants association had, by refusing to accept the rates recommended by the city government had put consumers in a difficult situation. He pointed out that in other cities, meat sellers were following the price list issued by the concerned authorities.

He also called for a check on the animals’ smuggling as well as a ban on their export.

Mr Iqbal suggested that price committees should have representatives of consumers’ organizations.—APP