15 Cash and Carry stores sealed for overpricing

Official says profiteers, hoarders to face strict action

RAWALPINDI:

The district administration sealed 15 big Cash and Carry stores for overcharging and violating the official price list in the last seven days.

According to a district administration spokesman, Deputy Commissioner Rawalpindi Muhammad Ali conducted raids to check prices of daily use items. The deputy commissioner visited different cash and carry stores, general stores and shops of fruits and vegetables in different markets and took action against violators.

The deputy commissioner also checked the quality of various food items and directed the authorities concerned to ensure strict implementation of the orders of the government at all costs and no one should be allowed to indulge in profiteering.

He said that the administration had decided to take strict action against profiteers and hoarders and the shops of the profiteers would not only be sealed but, the shopkeepers would also be sent behind the bars.

Meanwhile, Commissioner Rawalpindi Division Gulzar Hussain Shah had directed the officers concerned to closely monitor the supply of food items to control the prices and take action against profiteers and hoarders.

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The commissioner directed the authorities to set up counters at all big stores of the division to provide relief to the citizens and ensure the supply of daily use items at controlled prices. A spokesperson said that the administration received nearly 8000 complaints during the last week of September through 'Qeemat App' which were responded to immediately.

Around 128 profiteers were arrested in Rawalpindi district while fines amounting to over Rs 1.3 million were imposed besides registration of 92 First Information Reports against the rules violators during the period.

The spokesperson said that 55 price magistrates were actively discharging their duties in Rawalpindi and all price magistrates had been directed to increase field visits to review the prices of food items.

He said that the deputy commissioners, assistant commissioners and magistrates of the Rawalpindi division had been directed to visit the fruit and vegetable markets to monitor the auction process and efforts were also underway to ensure price stability particularly of daily use items.

The authorities had also been instructed to set up wholesale points near Mandis besides establishing 15 to 20 Sahulat Bazars in every district of the division so that the people could be provided relief and the supply of subsidized food items could be ensured.

Published in The Express Tribune, October 11^th, 2021.