RAWALPINDI: The district administration has issued a new price list after increasing the prices of milk, curd, meat and other edibles.

However, edibles are already being sold at higher prices than the official rates and the price magistrates have failed to control the situation.

As per the official list, mutton price is fixed at Rs1,000 per kg but it is being sold at Rs1,300 per kg. Beef price has been fixed at Rs500 per kg but it is available for Rs650 to Rs700 per kg.

Though the price of roti is fixed at Rs7 it is selling at Rs10. The official price of naan is Rs10 but it is available in the market at Rs15.

Sugar price is fixed at Rs88 per kg but it is available in the market at Rs110 per kg. Milk price has been fixed at Rs130 per litre but in the open market it is selling at Rs140. Similarly, yogurt’s official price is Rs140 and it is available at Rs150. Rice is selling at Rs180 per kg against the official rate of Rs140.

On the other hand, the residents expressed their resentment over the increase in the prices and said that instead of controlling prices the administration had given a free rope to the sellers.

Mohammad Anwar, a resident of Arya Mohallah, said that the prices of pulses, sugar, milk, yogurt and meat were increasing fast. He said that roti and naan were available at Rs10 and Rs15, respectively.

Jameel Ahmed, a resident of Satellite Town, said that meat prices had gone beyond the reach of the salaried class. He said prices of pulses also increased manifold.

Saleem Pervaiz, the chief of Punjab Merchant Association, told Dawn that prices of pulses and other edibles had increased in the wholesale market and it was difficult to sell it at lower prices, especially after the increase in the petroleum prices.

“Sugar is available in the wholesale market at Rs102 per kg and it is being sold to consumers at Rs108-Rs110 per kg. It is not possible to sell sugar at Rs88 per kg,” he said.

“If the government presses shopkeepers to sell sugar at Rs88 per kg, we will stop selling it.”

Published in Dawn, August 8th, 2021