Residents demand bazaars for affordable items

Shopkeepers charging at will and not displaying price list, complain consumers

ISLAMABAD: Citing the need to have daily use items available at affordable prices, people have urged the provincial government to set up affordable Sasta Bazaars across the province.

Yousaf Baloch, a resident of Quetta, told APP that the fruit and vegetable venders were looting the consumers at large and urged the provincial government to devise a mechanism to ensure provision of domestic and food items at affordable rates. He said the government should take an initiative to set up Sasta Bazaars and provide relief to the masses.

Farukh Ahmed, a senior journalist, urged the provincial government and district administration to ensure effective working of price control committees.

"These committees should protect consumers from adulterated eatables and food products as the retailers were selling substandard items at heavy rates," he added. He said there was no such thing as price control in the province. Everything had been limited to paperwork only, he said, adding no practical implementation and check and balance system was in place over the price of commodities.

“The government should take action against such people who contravene and violate the law that had ensured price control and prevention of profiteering and hoarding,” he said.

Commenting over increase in fares by transporters, a farmer Ijaz Kakar said the transporters were charging high fares for shipment of vegetables and fruits from field to the market. He said the government should eliminate the middleman's role and overcome the self-imposed increase of prices by brokers in the markets.

People from different walks of life told APP that the consumers were kept unaware of the prices of daily use items as the retailers did not display price lists at their shops. They added that daily use products like vegetables, fruits, utilities and all dairy products were being sold at different rates without any check.

Talking to APP, Balochistan government spokesperson Liaquat Shahwani said the government had been taking strict action against the shopkeepers and traders on overcharging. He said the government had already set up proper price control committees in every district of the province and the authorities were fining the violators.

The spokesperson requested the citizens to demand price list from the shopkeepers before buying any goods and pay according to the list, as the price control authorities had been updating the lists after every three months.

Published in The Express Tribune, November 28^th, 2019.