Price Control: 277 caught overcharging

Five of them were arrested and booked for overpricing and hoarding. They were fined a total of Rs198,000.

LAHORE:

Price control magistrates inspected 1,372 shops and wholesale outlets in the city during Ramazan and caught as many as 277 shopkeepers charging above the scheduled price.

They were fined a total of Rs198,000. Five of them were arrested and booked for overpricing and hoarding. DCO Ahad Khan Cheema said that price magistrates needed to keep a strict eye on the availability of sugar in the market. He said that some elements were spreading false rumours of a shortage of sugar to raise its price in the market. He said that the government had ensured there was an adequate supply and made it clear that no one will be allowed to sell it above the set price. He urged the magistrates, not to grow lax in the final days of Ramazan as shopkeepers tended to exploit weak regulations. He said that the monitoring will be continued till the last day of Ramazan. He also directed that the magistrates ensure that the flour being sold in the market was not substandard.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 24^th, 2011.