BADIN, Oct 11: At a time when it is increasingly becoming difficult for the poor to make both ends meet leaving them with little to rejoice, the banks in the city have further muddied their joy on the occasion of Eid by refusing to give them new currency notes in small denomination of Rs10 and 20.
The banks make a mockery of their poverty by offering new notes of Rs50 and Rs100 denominations, which people from poor and lower middle strata of society cannot afford to give away as “Eidi”.
Although the State Bank of Pakistan had provided fresh notes in different denominations to all the scheduled banks to meet the notes’ increased demand on the eve of Eidul Fitr, but in Badin, bank officials were more interested in creating hurdles in supply of new notes to general public, complained people who had gathered outside a bank.
People who were tired of running from one bank to the other to get new notes complained that some banks tell people point blank that they had no fresh notes available while others had already gave away lower new notes in small denominations of Rs10 and Rs20 to their own staff and a select number of account holders.
Mohammad Essa, Khan Mohammad and Mustafa Khan said that the branches of Habib Bank Limited and MCB Bank had started distributing fresh notes on Thursday but closed it soon afterwards.
The National Bank Pakistan also avoided supplying fresh notes in lower denominations even after production of NICs, they said.
ADULTERATION: The menace of adulteration in food items and drinks goes on unchecked and it appears there is no body to check it in the district administration and the taluka municipal authorities.
A survey conducted on Thursday found almost all the eatables adulterated. Milk, flour, chilli powder and several other commodities were found adulterated.
No official have thus far collected samples of food items from the market to analyse and ascertain if it is pure or not though. Under the West Pakistan Pure Food Rules, which says that one food inspector is to be posted for a population of 10,000 the city required at least 14 food inspectors to control the menace of adulteration.
The Sindh Local Government Ordinance 2001 also calls for action against contamination of food and drinks, supply of contaminated water, adulteration, neglect in safe storage, manufacturing and marketing substandard foods and drinks.