Tipped scales: Government fails to reign in profiteering

Citizens complain of vendors giving short-measure.

LAHORE: Despite a crackdown, the government has failed to stop shopkeepers from giving short measures and profiteering, shoppers say.

Citizens complained on Tuesday that shopkeepers, especially street vendors, were not selling daily-used items, especially fruits, at the notified prices. Most vendors were charging twice or thrice the official rate.

Talking to The Express Tribune, Kashif Baig, a shopper at the Township Main Bazaar, said that the district government had set the date prices between Rs125 and Rs150 per kilogramme. “In the open market, good quality palm dates are being sold for Rs280 to Rs320 per kg,” he said.

Nausheen Bibi, another shopper, said that it was difficult to find graded and good quality fruits and vegetables during Ramazan.

“Most vendors sell unsorted or mixed varieties of fruits and vegetables at the price of premium and first-grade products. Before Ramazan, spinach was available for Rs10 to Rs12 per kg. However, it is now selling for Rs40 or Rs45 per kg,” she said.

Some shoppers also complained of short-measure.

A shopper said that most shopkeepers used digital scales that were easy to tamper with. “They are cheating customers by using digital scales. The government should take action against them,” he said.

In a meeting on Tuesday, DCO Capt (r) Muhammad Usman said that the district administration had launched a crackdown against profiteers. “We have initiated legal action against over 30,000 shopkeepers involved in giving short-measure,” he said.

The meeting was chaired by the Punjab Additional Chief Secretary Shumail Ahmad Khawaja. He directed the administration to focus on stopping profiteering from open markets.

He asked all DCOs to convene immediate meetings of District Price Control Committees before the end of second ashra (10 days) of Ramazan.

Food Secretary Dr Pervaiz Ahmed Khan said that fruit and vegetable sales had doubled in Ramazan Bazaars as compared to last year. “During the first 14 days of Ramazan, 6.2 million kilogrammes of fruits and vegetables were sold in Ramazan Bazaars,” he said.

The meeting was informed that the Industries Department was inspecting the weighing and measuring instruments used by shopkeepers in Ramazan Bazaars and other markets.

The meeting expressed satisfaction over the provision of subsidy on edibles. The meeting participants were informed that the fruit and vegetable supply situation had remained satisfactory during the first half of Ramazan.

The officials were informed that at some places, people had complained of loose government control in the open markets where the rates were higher than in Ramazan Bazaars.

Published in The Express Tribune, June 22^nd, 2016.