MUZAFFARABAD, Aug 19: Perturbed by soaring fruit and vegetable prices in the open market, consumers from different neighbourhoods of the AJK capital made plentiful purchases at comparatively lower rates at a Sasta Bazaar here Friday, thanks to the town’s Municipal Corporation.

The bazaar was set up on a parking lot of the AJK University, for which the civic body staff had to put up strenuous efforts. The varsity officials were demanding stall fee from the vendors but they were told by the civic body staffers that the purpose of organising the bazaar was to give some relief to consumers.

Visitors and consumers, including women, said they were happy to see a substantial difference in the prices of veggies and fruits here and in the open market.

For example, tomatoes were being sold at Rs20 per kg against Rs30 elsewhere in the city. Similarly prices of lemons, grapes, apples and honeydew melon were respectively Rs70, Rs25, Rs40, and Rs15 lower than the open market. Not only fruits and vegetables, but other commodities had also been made available at the bazaar with the help of Utility Stores Corporation as well as distributors of some beverages companies.

Interestingly some vegetable and fruit sellers were spotted trying to purchase cheap items in bulk from vendors. They were pushed back under the orders of Municipal Magistrate Syed Sajjad Naqvi.

“We have invited many non-local vendors from Rawalpindi and Mansehra to have competition in the bazaar,” Mr Naqvi told Dawn.

Salma Bibi, a resident of Rawalpindi, was among the vendors, selling garlic, ginger, lemons and green chillies which she had made heaps of on a sheet.

Nearby, another woman, also from Punjab, was selling pickle.

They were a rare sight for many consumers as women are hardly seen here doing such manly jobs.

“It’s (bazaar) commendable and it should continue even beyond Ramzan,” said Khawaja Khalid Mahmood, a buyer, carrying shopping bags full of fruit and vegetables.He regretted that throughout the year, the consumers in Muzaffarabad had to pay high prices of fruits and vegetables compared to their rates in Rawalpindi and the neighouring town of Mansehra in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Mr Naqvi said it was due to the monopoly of the so-called fruit and vegetable mandi (market) in the town and the district administration needed to look into this issue. “Since most of these vendors have no involvement of sabzi mandi, the prices here are low. If we have to ensure cheap rates, we ought to break the monopoly of sabzi mandi.”