A woman, probably in her 50s, was coming out of a Utility Store empty handed, murmuring something that I couldn’t hear. While she was walking past me, I asked her what had happened. She turned to me, “I have come to buy vegetable ghee, but the store officials have asked me to come tomorrow. We are poor people and cannot afford to buy ghee from the market because it costs almost double the price of a Utility Store. Where are the poor supposed to go?”
As I was talking to the woman, a truck carrying various items sold in the Utility Store arrived. She ran into the store to get a kilogram of ghee, but she was unlucky, as there was no ghee the truck. The official, who was inspecting the items loaded on the truck, asked the woman to come the next day and get as much ghee as she wanted. The woman, a pained smile on her face, said, “I need only one kilogram of ghee because I don’t have money to buy more.”
Such scenes are quite common at the Utility Stores where people throng to buy cheap ghee, sugar, and wheat flour. Karim Bux, a regular visitor at a Utility Store, bought a five-kilogram bag of sugar and was leaving when I stopped him to ask how much it cost. “It costs Rs.350 at this store, while in the market it is being sold for Rs.95 to Rs.100 per kilogram. I run a tea shop and therefore I need more sugar. But, according to the store rules, one person is allowed to buy only five kilograms of sugar in a month,” he replied. “Then how do you manage to get more sugar?” I asked. The man smiled sheepishly, “Next time, I will buy sugar from another store.” He came closer and whispered, “Earlier, I used to buy sugar from different stores to it to other tea shops, but now it has become difficult to buy extra sugar.”
According to Bux, many underprivileged men and women used to buy ghee and sugar from the Utility Stores to sell to other vendors, thus earning good money in a day. He added, “There were many fast-food outlets that used to send their staff members to buy ghee and sugar on a commission basis, magar ab unka dhandha band ho gaya hai (but now their business has shut down).”
The manager of the store, on the condition of anonymity, told me, “Until March 2022, we were free to sell as much ghee, sugar, and wheat flour to our customers as they wanted, but in April, the management instructed us to register the CNIC of the buyer to avoid double buying. It is a good practice because more people are benefiting from the subsidized rates.” According to him, the previous price of vegetable ghee was Rs 260 per kilogram, which was increased to Rs 355 per kilogram last month, but now the price has been reduced to Rs.300 per kilogram. The manager said that some people used to bring their family members with them, all of them would buy vegetable ghee and sugar, and in this way, they used to buy more than what they needed. Such people, he said, sold ghee and sugar to other vendors to earn profit.
The manager said, “Many times we noticed a particular man coming to the store along with a particular woman and children, and they used to buy ghee and sugar. We caught many such people and banned their entry, but then they would send complaints to our bosses, and ultimately, we had to give in.” Replying to an allegation about some store officials selling vegetable ghee and sugar to outside vendors, the manager said, “I am responsible for my store and I can assure you that no such practice is taking place here. We are no angels, but since my posting at this store four months ago, I have not experienced any such activity by any management official.”
Responding to a question, the manager said, “You might be right that some officials [at some stores] are involved in corrupt practices, but how long will they be able to continue? One day they will be caught and punished for their wrongdoing. With the registration process, it has become very easy for us; with just one click we can check the record of a particular customer and the items he has bought during the month.”
With rising inflation and unemployment, the only option to get subsidised grocery is through utility stores, where low income, middle class, and now people belonging to the upper middle class are seen buying subsidised items, especially wheat flour, sugar, lentils, and vegetable ghee. Visiting some of the utility stores in the city, it was discovered that most of the stores do not have wheat flour, lentils, and vegetable ghee. People were coming to the stores to check the availability of these items, but the store officials were telling them to come the next day or the day after.
Among the subsidised items, vegetable ghee is available for Rs 300 per kilogram, sugar for Rs 70 per kilogram, and a ten-kilogram bag of wheat flour for Rs 400. As there is a considerable difference between the prices of these items at the Utility Stores and other sellers, many people prefer to shop at the former. According to a survey, price of wheat flour in the market is Rs 90 per kilogram, a kilogram of sugar costs Rs.100, and one kilogram of vegetable ghee is sold at Rs 570. Comparing the prices of the commodities it is evident that there is a huge difference between the prices at the Utility Stores and the market. That is why a large number of people visit the Utility Stores to save money.
When I contacted Agha Naseer Durrani, Regional Manager Utility Stores Corporation Sukkur, he said, “Since April 2022, we have started registering CNIC of our customers to ensure that every family can easily get five kilograms of ghee, five kilograms of sugar, and forty kilograms of wheat flour per month.” Responding to a question about a shortage of ghee, sugar, lentils, and wheat flour at the stores, he said, “There are 80 stores in my region, and we make every effort to supply whatever we receive from the head office. Sometimes, a delay in transportation results in a shortage of certain items, but once we get the commodities in our warehouse, we start supplying it to the stores on a priority basis.”
Replying to a question about the allegations of corrupt practices at some stores, Durrani said, “Since my posting here two months ago, I have not received a single complaint about any such practice at any store.” He added that he often pays surprise visits to the stores to check that everything is being done according to the rules and regulations. To another question, he said, “The store manager is bound to sell the available commodities to the customers in accordance with the rules, and if anyone is violating the rules, he will be taken to task for sure.” He claims that according to the reports he has received from different areas, people are happy with the CNIC registration initiative as in this way they can buy up to five kilograms of ghee and sugar and forty kilograms of wheat flour every month. Durrani said, “Some poor people are unable to afford all these items in one go, so they have the option to buy five kilograms of ghee every month either in a single visit or multiple visits, according to their affordability.”