PTI leader Ejaz Chaudhary said the prices of vegetables, fruits and other kitchen items have been jacked up in Punjab while Shabaz Sharif and his ministers are enjoying heli rides on the name of inspection in the province. No one is ready to take action against the surging trend and artificial price hike of daily use items he added. He said the purpose of setting up Ramazan Bazaars was to provide quality food items to the common man at cheaper rates but public has no option but to pay high prices even in the Ramazan Bazaars. In rest of the open markets with the advent of the holy month of Ramazan, the rates of daily use items have sky-rocketed he added. He said self-proclaimed Khadam A Alla has no understanding that profiteers and hoarders are gaining maximum benefits from people's helplessness under his nose. Chief Minster???s cronies are giving him reports that every thing is in their control but in actual poor public is being exploited by the shopkeepers.
PTI leader Yasmin Rashid said we being Muslims fast to make sure our greed and desires stay under control but unfortunately here in Pakistan profiteers and hoarders take full advantage of holy month of Ramazan and extort money from the poor consumers. It is the duty of the government to provide basic necessities of life to the people at reasonable prices but despite promises every Ramazan public experiences hyper food inflation she added. She said every year Federal and Provincial governments pledge billions of rupees for Ramazan package but they failed to control prices of basic commodities in Ramazan. The price control authorities claimed that a robust regime has been put in place to control prices but it turns out to be a ploy every year she added.
PTI Information Secretary Andleeb Abbas said the situation in Ramazan Bazaars is nothing but a dilemma for Shabaz Sharif and his provincial machinery over commodity prices and their availability in the market. She said Shabaz Sharif thinks he can control prices by paying surprise visits and presiding over high-level meetings through video links. The Chief Minister is only fond of taking notices and massive publicity and has left the people at the mercy of hoarders and profiteers she added. She said even the sate run utility stores run out of stock every Ramzan but government keeps fooling the nation in the name of Ramazan package.
Andleeb Abbas said in the absence of effective market mechanism and imbalance in pricing food inflation in Ramazan cannot be controlled. Pakistan needs to enforce a free market culture with regulators eyes on uneven practices in pricing and stocks.
Media Cell
PTI Punjab