The Ramazan Model bazaars and Eid bazaars established across the Rawalpindi district from the 1st day of the fasting month will be wrapped up on Monday (today).
According to officials, these markets will cater to the needs of shoppers until Maghrib prayers. There will be no Ramazan Model and Eid bazaar available on Tuesday. Additionally, the powers granted to 60 officers of the Revenue Department, including tehsildars, naib tehsildars, gurdawars, and senior patwaris, to monitor and address inflation will expire on April 9.
Starting Tuesday, these officers will no longer have the power to inspect shops or issue fines, as a recent circular indicates.
Notably, the Punjab government opted not to establish affordable Ramazan bazaars in any city across the province, including Rawalpindi, citing the severe economic challenges this year. Instead, model Ramazan bazaars were introduced, yet they did not offer subsidised prices on essential items such as vegetables, fruits, flour, and groceries. Consequently, these model bazaars became hubs for price hikes, leading to a decline in customer turnout.
Over half of the stallholders at the model markets vacated their stalls within a week.
This year marked a historic failure of the affordable Ramazan bazaar system in Punjab due to the prevailing financial and economic crises. The Agricultural Fair Price Shops established by the Department of Agriculture also saw limited activity. For the past 45 years, Rawalpindi hosted 16 affordable Ramazan bazaars annually, providing 20 to 35 per cent subsidies on various items like vegetables, fruits, groceries, meat, and chicken.
However, due to the lack of subsidies, these bazaars were replaced by only three model bazaars across the district.
Published in The Express Tribune, April 7th, 2024.
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