KASUR: Traders, commission agents, labourers and shopkeepers of the fruit and vegetable market staged a protest demonstration on College Road on Sunday against the district administration for arresting about a dozen of their colleagues for alleged overcharging during the last two days.

About 150 protesters ignored Section 144 and social distancing protocols and blocked the College Road near the fruit and vegetable market for about two hours, throwing the traffic out of gear.

The City police held several rounds of negotiations with the representatives of fruit market but failed. They also failed to ensure implementation of Section 144 and social distancing.

The charged protestors alleged that the administration, on the pretext of giving relief to the masses, was forcing hundreds of families associated with the Sabzi Mandi to starve. They said the administration could not bring down the prices by force and it should control the factors that increase the prices.

Muhammad Mushtaq, the president fruit and market committee, said the district administration was ignoring the ground realities and its only aim seemed to please the high-ups by showing the lowest prices. He said the administrations of Lahore, Kasur, Sheikhupura and Nankana Sahib districts were sending price lists to the chief secretary on a daily basis. He explained that the prices of fruit and vegetables were being kept down by force while it was the market itself that determined the prices of these commodities on the basis of demand and supply.

Mr Mushtaq alleged that the market committee was not properly performing its duty as it issued price lists a day before while the markets fluctuated on an hourly basis in a day.

Talking about the process of the making price lists, market committee vice chairman Sheikh Qaisar Ayub explained the lists were prepared with caution and compared with other markets before being issued. He said some elements were trying to raise the prices for their vested interests while market committee always discouraged such elements.

Deputy Commissioner Manzar Javed stated the administration had never tried to influence the prices of fruit and vegetable as they were set as per demand and supply rule on market trends. He claimed no trader or commission agent had been fined but only a few retailers who violated the prices fixed by market committee had been fined. He said also 47 price magistrates were working in the district to assure sale of commodities in accordance with the prices fixed by the market committee.

Published in Dawn, May 4th, 2020