LAHORE: The Lahore High Court on Thursday once again directed the district government to improve the conditions at the Ramazan bazaars and ensure the citizens do not stand in long queues to buy subsidised sugar.

Hearing petitions of sugar mills against the price of the commodity, Justice Shahid Jamil Khan observed that the situation at Ramazan bazaars was still unchanged as the citizens had to stand in queues to purchase sugar.

“The prices cannot be controlled simply by establishing bazaars in tents,” the judge observed and suggested the government should give subsidy on the sugar price in the open market for smooth provision of the commodity to citizens. He directed the commissioner and the secretary industries to make a workable plan to control the prices of essential commodities in the open market.

The judge will resume hearing on May 7.

At a previous hearing, Justice Khan had censured the government for making citizens stand in long queues to buy sugar at Ramazan bazaars.

“The government has turned people (into) beggars in the name of Rs15 discount on sugar price,” the judge had regretted and observed that making people stand in queues for buying sugar was against their dignity and self-respect.

Published in Dawn, April 30th, 2021