FAISALABAD: Ahsan who earns his livelihood by selling vegetables on a cart in the city streets is perturbed these days as his income has reduced while the expenses increased manifold during the lockdown.

A resident of Achkera on Narwala Road, he says the shopkeepers in his area are charging Rs70 for one kilogram of flour and no official bothered to take action against such profiteers.

“Before the government announced the lockdown, I was earning Rs500-Rs700 daily and could manage my home expenses easily. Now I am unable to make both ends meet as prices of flour and other essential items have spiraled” Ahsan says.

“Even my regular customers seem reluctant to buy vegetables from me, perhaps because of fear of catching the virus, so the sale has gone down considerably”, he laments.

Similarly, Ali, a student of computer sciences, said last month he had purchased a 20-kg flour bag for Rs1,000 and now the price had surged by Rs62.50 in the Gulberg area. He said when questioned, the shopkeepers blame the wholesale dealers for the surge.

“The government must launch a crackdown against the hoarders and profiteers to provide actual relief to people during the lockdown,” he demands.

When asked about the increase in flour prices, district food department officials claim that wheat quota for the flour mills has been increased to avoid shortage and discourage profiteering. Earlier, the wheat flour quota was 80,000 bags which has been increased to 106,000 bags daily, they say.

On the other hand, Flour Grinding Association president Ali Akbar claims the quota for the Chakkis (small grinding mills) has been reduced from 10 to five bags. He says that the food department officials accuse Chakki owners of selling flour at higher rates.

However, Akbar alleges that the officials have been obliging the flour mills by allowing them extra wheat as these units were being backed by some local parliamentarians.

He says the association has asked the officials to take action against the overcharging units rather than punishing all.

Zafar Mahmood of Jaranwala complains of flour shortage for a couple of days, alleging the district administration seemed least interested in taking action against the profiteers. He said people had also staged a protest demonstration outside the officeof the assistant commissioner on Wednesday to press him for making flour available, but to no avail.

A district administration official said fines were being imposed on the shopkeepers found involved in overcharging and hoarding.

Published in Dawn, March 28th, 2020