KARACHI, Oct 22: The city government has complained that police are not cooperating with it in making the price control campaign a success. A senior city government official told Dawn that the police attitude was one of the major factors contributing to the ineffectiveness of the drive.
The official pointed out that a formal request for police escort to the mobile teams, led by DDOs (Revenue), had been made by the DCO who had approached the Capital City Police Officer (CCPO) in this regard.
The CCPO had been requested to ensure provision of one police mobile van for each of the DDOs delegated magisterial powers to check prices. It was also requested that police personnel be provided to the raiding teams as well as the complaint centres set up across the city to maintain an effective check on prices of essential items during the month of Ramazan.
However, the official said, the CCPO had not yet responded to the call due to which raids could not be conducted at many places in the city. The police escort was essential to take profiteers and hoarders to task, he added.
The matter is expected to be taken up with the higher authorities at a meeting between Governor Ishratul Ibad and City Nazim Naimatullah Khan on Saturday.
The meeting, summoned by the governor to review the progress of the price control campaign and performance of the concerned officials, would be attended by DCO and other senior city government officials, as well as secretaries of various departments and senior police officials, he said.
According to the official, the CCPO would be reminded of his responsibilities in this regard so that the price control drive could yield positive results.
He stated that in most of the towns, the DDOs complained of poor response from police when asked to accompany them in conducting surprise raids on markets. In some other areas, there appeared no response from police, he claimed.
It is learnt that while taking stock of the situation, the Saturday meeting would find ways and means to bring down prices of essential commodities, including milk, meat, fruits, flour and vegetables, to a reasonable level.
It will also review the city government's shortcoming vis-a-vis the inadequate number of the DDOs, eligible to be vested with magisterial powers, at its disposal. At present, only seven of the total 18 DDOs meet the requirements for being eligible to get such powers.
Meanwhile, meat merchants, fruit dealers and milk sellers in particular, and sellers of other commodities in general, have been taking full advantage of the ineffectiveness of the price control campaign.
In the past week, they went ahead with their usual practice of charging prices of their own choice and fleecing consumers in the holy month of Ramazan. Most of them have not displayed the official price list at some prominent place at their shop or stall in violation of the directives issued by both the provincial authorities and city government.
The DDOs, already empowered to take prompt action against profiteers and defiant merchants, have not been participating in the price control drive wholeheartedly. Sources in the city government are of the view that some of these DDOs take the duty as an additional responsibility.
However, there are reports that some of the DDOs have started taking action against those indulging in overcharging and fleecing consumers. Their activities are reflected in the city government's routine statements containing details of fines and convictions handed to profiteers.
Attaching no importance to such actions, people in some markets said that traders, shopkeepers and vendors could not be deterred from their usual practice as they knew how to cover the losses inflicted to them by the haphazard and random price control campaigns.