HYDERABAD, Oct 12: The district government’s price control drive suffered a setback on Wednesday when dozens of fruit sellers observed a strike and kept their business closed in Market Tower area in protest against frequent imposition of fines by special magistrates.

They complained that the magistrates were booking only them while no action was being taken against wholesalers who they blamed for the rise in fruit prices. They staged a protest demonstration against the magistrates and demanded action against wholesalers.

They complained that the magistrates not only fined them but also insulted them in public. The district government was deliberately avoiding action against fruit and vegetable wholesalers, they charged adding that if they were supplied fruits on reasonable rates then there would no rise in prices.

It was impossible for them to follow official price lists, which had been made without taking into consideration the ground realities, they said.