Zero credibility: Bureau of Supply and Prices unheard of, inactive
PHOTO: APP/FILE
Much like various other departments that exist and function on taxpayer money but have little to show performance wise, the provincial Bureau of Supply and Prices (BSP) has done precious little ever since its inception.
Apart from its obvious domain of keeping a check on commodity prices, the BSP has also been tasked with keeping a vigilant eye on the weighing scales or meters being used by retailers so that customers are not cheated. To this end, the bureau set up a complaint centre at NIPA Chowrangi, Gulshan-e-Iqbal, some 12 years back, so that people could report shop owners who were defrauding people.
However, as per the centre’s own representative, Aftab Alam, there are barely one or two complaints registered every month. “And a total of three complaints have been registered in Ramzan so far,” Alam added.
The low number of complaints is because the people do not believe the bureau will actually do anything, as per Anwar Abro, a resident of the Korangi’s Chakra Goth area of the metropolis. “Why is it even necessary to file a complaint in the first place? It is the bureau’s job to root out retailers cheating people and take action against them,” remarked Abro.
While the bureau and its complaint centre remain in a slumber, shopkeepers either use bricks or stones to weigh the goods.
This is something that Abdul Rahman, a shopper in Saddar, found to be red flag. “We never get what we pay for because shopkeepers use stones instead of proper weights to weigh items.”
When asked if he knew that the BSP could take action against such retailers, Rahman replied: “Yes, I filed a complaint with them two years ago. Nothing has happened since.”
The bureau’s inaction is why there is a trust deficit, according to Ghulam Murtaza Khoro, a local lawyer. “All the bureau and its officers do is draw salaries and perks. They do not have anything to show performance-wise,” the lawyer regretted.
Apart from the trust deficit and bureau’s inaction, many do not file complaints because they are not even aware of the bureau’s existence.
One such individual is Abdul Ghani, who was getting fuel at a petrol station near the Lucky Star bus stop, Saddar. When The Express Tribune asked if he knew that he could lodge a complaint against faulty petrol station meters with a complaint centre in Gulshan-e-Iqbal, he said he was not aware of such a centre.
“If I had known about it, I would have complained about the multiple fuelling stations that have cheated me in the past,” said a bemused Ghani before adding: “But who is brave enough to take action against such establishments?”
When asked about any awareness campaigns the bureau had started so people could familiar with their work, the complaint centre representative Alam said he was not aware of any. “However, whoever files a complaint with us, we make sure to take action,” Alam told The Express Tribune.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 17th, 2023.