SWAT: People from different parts of Swat have complained that they are unable to buy woolies and footwear for the winter as prices of secondhand jackets and shoes have also been increased.

“Every winter I visit Landa Bazaar in Mingora to buy secondhand jacket and pullover but I am shocked to see the prices. Last year, I purchased a secondhand jacket at Rs300 but this time I cannot find any such jacket at less than Rs1,000,” Ahmad Ali, a resident of Matta, told this scribe in the bazaar.

Most of the visitors to the bazaar said that they were poor and mainly daily wagers. They added that they earned about Rs700 per day and were unable to buy the secondhand stuff for the winter season owing to the exorbitant prices.

Sardar Ali, a resident of Qambar area, who was seeking jackets for his children in the bazaar, said that first he went to shops of new jackets but turned towards Landa Bazaar when he came to know about the prices there.

Daily wagers say they can’t buy jackets and shoes for winter

“I came here and inquired about the prices of different items. The prices are high here too. I don’t know where to go to find cheap items. I cannot even afford to purchase something in Landa Bazaar. I am a peon in a private school. I cannot make both ends meet in my salary,” he told Dawn.

He said that he voted for PTI to bring change and make life easy for poor but his dreams shattered as the prices of daily use items including secondhand commodities were increased manifolds in the tenure of present government.

The vendors and shopkeepers of the secondhand items said that they bought used items at a high rate from the wholesale markets of Karachi so they had no other way but to sell the commodities at an increased price.

“We bring the used clothes and shoes from Karachi but this year the price of everything has been increased manifold. A jacket, which we used to purchase at Rs50 previously, has now reached to Rs300 to Rs400. So we cannot sell it at a low price,” said Bakht Zamin, a vendor in the bazaar.

Published in Dawn, November 22nd, 2021