The Punjab government will set up more than 315 Ramazan Bazaars, 2,000 fair price shops and 800 dastarkhawans during the month of Ramazan, which will start operating on the first of Ramazan.
Of the bazaars, 26 will be established in the Lahore division, 40 in Rawalpindi, 50 in Gujranwala, 45 in Faisalabad, 35 in Sargodha, 16 in Multan, 18 in Sahiwal, 24 in Bahawalpur and 22 in Dera Ghazi Khan.
Twenty-five items, which include fruit, vegetables, pulses, flour, meat and eggs – will be available at the bazaars and the shops at lower prices than the market.
At the dastarkhawans, sehri and iftar will be provided free of charge. These will be set up at hospitals, railway stations, laboureres’ colonies and katchi abadies.
The government has also nominated 1,300 officers as price magistrates. The magistrates will monitor food prices and have been given the authority to fine profiteers and hoarders. The Industries, Commerce and Investment Department will monitor the running of the bazaars while the Agriculture and Livestock Department will keep a check on the quality of fruits, vegetables, meat and poultry products. The government has notified the prices of basin (gram flour), dal chana, sugar and wheat flour at Rs82, Rs80, Rs50 and Rs230 (for a 10-kg flour bag) respectively. A person can buy a maximum of two kilograms of each item and a bag of atta (wheat flour) at a time.
Every bazaar will have a complaints centre and a parking for visitors.
District Price Control Committees have been directed by the government to notify prices of food items that will be available at the Ramazan Bazaars. The committees have been instructed to fix prices after consulting with traders and retailers. The district administration has also been told to discourage middlemen while procuring food items.
The district governments have been asked to encourage the affluent and corporations to provide packets of essential items, free of cost, to the poor.
Published in The Express Tribune, July 15th, 2012.
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