commissioner Shoaib Ahmed Siddiqui believes that the campaign is a success as many profiteers have been fined and a few are even behind bars. PHOTO: FILE
If you find shopkeepers charging more when you shop for groceries, vegetables or fruits in Bachat Bazaars then just look round the corner and report it to the city administration complaint centres.
These complaint centres have been established in all bazaars including those in Defence, Gulshan-e-Iqbal, North Nazimabad and Gulistan-e-Jauhar where hawkers are charging higher prices as compared to those that should be charged. “This is a positive step if implemented properly,” said Defence resident Mohib Ali Turabi. “The campaign has been fruitless so far because shopkeepers aren’t being directed to display the government’s pricelist.”
Sindh Grocery Retailers Association general secretary Farid Qurashi also thinks that the strategy to fight profiteering needs to change. “The commissioner should take notice of the frustration of retailers and should not fix prices without our consent,” said Qurashi. “Otherwise, this campaign will not benefit the common man and profiteering will continue.”
However, commissioner Shoaib Ahmed Siddiqui believes that the campaign is a success as many profiteers have been fined and a few are even behind bars. “It is a big challenge to stop profiteering as it is backed by a mafia that has a nexus of corrupt officials behind them.”
Published in The Express Tribune, January 22nd, 2014.
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