HYDERABAD, Oct 10: Members of the district council on Tuesday urged people to lodge complaints about exorbitant prices at ‘complaint centres’ set up by the district administration.

They said that the administration wanted to enforce lists issued by it for controlling prices of daily use.

The members said that there was rise in prices of fruits, vegetables and essential commodities and in absence of cooperation from people the drive would not succeed.

Resolutions of Parveen Akhtar Lodhi and Nasir Baloch dealing with price hike were clubbed together and passed by the council after a threadbare discussion.

It was demanded in the resolutions that area-wise committees be formed to ensure check on rising prices.

Ms Lodhi demanded that tariff of telephone, Sui gas and electricity should be reduced.

She said that prices of petrol, ghee, flour, sugar, pulses and mutton also be minimised.

Ashraf Munna, Q. Hakim, Zahida Memon, Sajida Baloch, Mehboob Abro, Hussain Bux Hussaini, Yamin Soomro, Nasir Baloch and Rashid Khan participated in debate on the resolution.

They called for controlling prices of sugar, ghee, gas and electricity.

They said that there were people who did not have access to clean drinking water.

They said that only the privileged ones remained unaffected from the inflation.

Q. Hakim said that poverty and price hike should be separately discussed.

He said that people had an important role to play to bring prices of basic commodities under control and unless they assisted the district administration by lodging their complaints for over-charging by fruit and vegetable sellers, the rise in prices would remain unchecked.

He said that the district government had launched an effective drive against price hike through price control committee whose members visit bazaars daily but regretted that not a single complaint was lodged at compliant centre.

Sajida Baloch said that daily wage earners were worst affected because they could not afford even half a kilogram of mutton as its price was still beyond their reach.

Lashing out at the Hyderabad Electric Supply Company, Mehboob Abro said that power consumers were being slapped with detection bills in addition to already sky-rocketing price hike.

“Qasimabad is worst hit as far as inflation in prices of essential commodities and fruits is concerned”, he said.

He was supported by Yamin Soomro of the Awam Dost Panel who said that he was issued detection bill for his abandoned house and blamed present rulers for crisis.

Mr Soomro said that middleman’s role should be checked because it was the root cause of increase in prices of consumer goods while the poor hari did not get actual charge of his labour.

Hussain Bux Hussaini said that rates were quite different before Ramazan and there was steep rise in prices.

He agreed with his colleagues that consumers did not come forward in lodging their complaints.

He said that rates of flour and other commodities were different in Punjab and Sindh.

Khushhal Paksitan Panel’s Nasir Baloch said that people have to live with present tariff of electricity because the government had given surety in the agreement.

He said that an effective administration could control price hike but consumers have yet to develop a culture of reporting their complaints to price checking staff.

Rashid Khan also called for motivating people so that administration’s efforts could be supplemented in checking prices.

The meeting recommended to the federal government to consider a proposal of Dr Rakshanda Mugeez for running a train between Hyderabad-Karachi on the pattern of Lahore-Rawalpindi so that monopoly of transporters on the Super Highway could be put to an end.

She said that passengers suffered tremendous difficulties in travelling between Karachi and Hyderabad and they were hostages at the hands of bus operators.

Q. Hakim, on a point of order, drew attention of the chair to a reported case of dengue virus in a private hospital which caused death of a resident of Wahdat colony.

He said that it was necessary that health authorities should accelerate pace of fumigation campaign because it had not been effective so far for lack of resources.

He said that all those spots which had become hatchery of mosquitoes should be cleansed.

CONVENOR: District Council Convenor Zafar Ali Rajput directed the council secretary to seek progress on resolutions passed by the council from departments concerned.

He said that if no action had been taken in the matters high officers should be asked to take action against responsible officials for inaction.

Giving his ruling on a point of order by Dr Arif Razmi, he said that it was of no use if rulings and resolutions were not implemented by departments concerned.

Dr Razmi had drawn attention of the chair to absence of police officers, who did not turn up in the house despite directives by the chair.

The convenor said that presence of police officers was necessary and the DPO should be represented by any other officer.

He asked the council secretary to write to every department against whom resolutions were adopted so far for any particular issue and see whether any progress was made in the matter.

Rana Rashid presented his privilege motion against an ASI Khawar Rajput of a police station in Latifabad for detaining him on the road for one hour despite the fact that he possessed documents of his vehicle.

He said that although convenor himself spoke to ASI but he did not allow him to go until SHO arrived there after convenor talked to him and he was set free.

He said that it was humiliating and insulting for any elected representative.

He demanded that ASI should be dismissed from service.

The chair observed that the DPO should throw out black sheep from the department and action taken by the DPO should be reported to the council also.

He referred to a resolution, tabled by Hussain Bux Hussaini, to the irrigation department for stone-pitching of the Lined channel.