KARACHI, Sept 30: MPA Shazia Marri of PPP has accused the government of having miserably failed in controlling price of essential items during Ramazan as the vendors are charging their own price, making it impossible for the poor to live a comfortable and honourable life.

“The price list at Bachat Bazaars is a mere façade as the vendors are charging much more. When their attention is drawn to the price list, they plainly say it has been put on display to satisfy authorities. They reply: We don’t get commodities at subsidised rates and, as such, we can’t sell the same at the official rates,” said Ms Marri, who is also Information Secretary of the party’s women wing.

In a statement issued here on Saturday, she condemned the government for its short-sightedness towards the prices of essential commodities.

Ramazan has seen the prices of various commodities having gone up by 50 to 100 per cent, furthering burdening an already troubled populace. In this context, she pointed out that most of the essential items were missing from markets. “Wherever they are available, their prices have been raised unilaterally.”

This can be attributed entirely to the government’s illogically prescribed price list which includes retail prices lower than those available at wholesale, without offering any subsidies to ensure availability of such prices. This purported attempt to maintain reasonable prices is similar to government’s many other ill-thought out schemes concocted merely as an attempt to curry favour with the citizens without having any real public interests in mind.

Ms Marri said that the outcome of such schemes was invariably disappointing.

The government’s much publicised utility stores policy was not delivering either because outlets did not exit everywhere.