Price lists: Market committee warned over distribution delay

Shopkeepers fined for not displaying price lists, using uncertified weights.

BAHAWALPUR/ SIALKOT/ GUJRANWALA/ GUJRAT/ MANDI BAHAUDDIN:

Assistant Commissioner Haq Nawaz Ranjha on Monday warned the Malakwal market committee members to distribute price lists to shopkeepers on schedule.

Ranjha said strict action, including imprisonment, would be taken against the members of the committee if complaints about delay in distribution of lists were not redressed.

The warnings were issued after several shopkeepers told the assistant commissioner, who has the additional charge as a price control magistrate, that price lists were not available until 11am in the morning.

Ranjha also imposed fines on several shopkeepers for not displaying price lists and for using weights that were not certified by the administration.

The raid was carried out on orders of Mandi Bahauddin district coordination officer, Tariq Mahmood, during a visit to the Ramazan Bazaar.

Earlier, executive district officer (health) Dr Amjad Iqbal and district officer (health) Dr Iftikhar Ahmed wasted dozens of kilogrammes of meat found to be rotten from several stalls at the Ramazan Bazaar.

In Sialkot, cases were registered against 23 shopkeepers and Rs125,000 fines imposed on 141 others in raids to check overpricing on Monday and Sunday. This was announced by the additional district collector at a meeting on Monday.

The meeting also reviewed arrangements for Ramazan dastarkhwans.

On Sunday, Senior Advisor to the CM Sardar Zulfiqar Khosa visited Ramazan Bazaars in Gunjranwala, Wazirabad, Kamoke and Gakhar Mandi. He said the government had allocated Rs4 billion to subsidise food items at 400 Ramazan Bazaars in the province. In a surprise raid at a Ramazan Bazaar in Lala Musa, Gujrat DCO Nawazish Ali expressed dissatisfaction over the absence of revenue department officials. In his note in the visitors’ book, the DCO stated that vegetables and wheat flour stock at the bazaar should be enough to last the entire day. He said the bazaar had run out of wheat and gram flour, pulses, potatoes and peaches by 5pm.

In Bahawalpur, an fir has been registered against a shopkeeper and Rs67,300 fines imposed on several others for overpricing, District Coordination Officer Dr Naeem Rauf said on Monday.

He said these were fines were imposed in 215 raids in 60 different areas of the district by 33 price control magistrates on Sunday.

Published in The Express Tribune, July 24^th, 2012.