TAXILA: Nanbais in Hassanabdal have increased bread prices without official approval and have issued their own price list, and the local bakers’ association has also announced a Rs10,000 fine for anyone selling roti or naan at prices determined by the local administration.

Tandoor owners have increased the prices of roti, khameeri roti and naan, and the Hassanabdal Tandoor Association’s chairman has issued a notification in this regard.

Naan is now being sold for Rs12, instead of the official rate of Rs10, while roti is being sold for Rs10 instead of the official rate of Rs8.

Hassanabdal Tandoor Association Patron-in-Chief Mohammad Rafael said that the prices of naan, khameeri roti and roti have been raised because of the increase in the price of flour from Rs850 to Rs1,050 for a 20kg bag.

The prices of kulcha, roghni naan and tandoori paratha will also be increased by Rs5 each, he said, adding: “The gas tariff hike has increased our bill to almost double, while the price of flour has increased from Rs850 to Rs1,030 for a 20 kilogram, depending on the quality of the flour.

Tandoor Owners President Akbar Khan said that the reversal of the gas tariff is not enough, as flour mills are selling at much higher rates than before.

“A 20kg bag of flour costs Rs 1, 050 instead of Rs 850 — how can naan and roti be cheap,” he asked.

He said nanbais cannot sell 110 grams of bread for Rs8 when the price of flour has skyrocketed. “We cannot sell naan and roti at the (old) prices if the government does not restore the old prices of flour,” he added.

Buyers have reacted strongly to the unilateral increase of bread prices by nanbais, saying the poor will starve because of them. They also criticised the local administration, which was unable to prevent the nanbais from announcing their own price list.

“We are forced to buy roti for Rs10 and naan for Rs12, instead of the previous rates of Rs8 and Rs10,” daily-wage worker Zafar Iqbal, who was buying bread from a local tandoor for lunch, said.

“There is no local government in the city and the tandoorwalas increase prices on their own,” Kausar Perveen, who works as a cleaner at a private school, said. She added that the increase in the cost of naan and roti meant that both products were now beyond her budget.

Local PPP leader Sardar Zufiqar Hayat Khan said that Punjab Chief Minister Sardar Usman Buzdar has taken notice of the increase in bread prices and directed the products be sold at the fixed rate, but the administration does not appear interested in implementing his orders.

“Officials from the local administration do not bother to visit the bazaars and leave their comfortable offices,” he said.

Hassanabdal Assistant Commissioner Adnan Anjum Raja said that no notification has been issued increasing the prices of naan and roti.

He said a new price notification was issued by the local naanbai association on their own, and he has convened a meeting of stake holders to address the issue.

Published in Dawn, August 26th, 2020