Pakistan: Low quality food being sold at Ramazan bazaars

Low quality fruits, vegetables and some other edible items are being sold at Town Ship Ramazan Bazaar at the price of top quality products with nominal subsidy, citizens told Daily Times during a visit to the ‘fair price market’ on Friday. The shopkeepers’ dealing with the buyers or visitors was also unsatisfactory as they were treating the fast-observing citizens in totally uncivilised manner at the sugar stall, one of the main attractions for the visitors.

A citizen named Muhammad Iqbal said: “We have come from a long distance to benefit from the Ramazan subsidy; however, only Rs 3-5 subsidy is available on most of the items and one has to wait for and stand in long queues to get 1-kg sugar for Rs 47 that is also in powdered form,” he remarked.

Another citizen, Ali Arshad, said that tomato was available for Rs 41 per kg as compared to the Rs 40 same quality tomato available in the open market. He said that sweet potatoes were being sold for Rs 62 per kg as compared to fine quality potatoes available in the market for Rs 65-70 per kg.

When contacted, a dates vendor said how could they sell dates at low rates when they were purchasing them at very high rates from the market. “We have already reduced our profit keeping in view the market completion,” he said, adding that the government should control the price at wholesaler’s end if it really wanted to control the price chain. Another citizen, Illyas Hussain, also criticised the policy of selling only one kg of sugar to a single customer. He said that at least 5-kg sugar sale to one individual should be allowed to facilitate citizens because sugar was one of the most sought after commodity during Ramazan for its use in Iftar drinks.

Meanwhile, Chief Secretary Naveed Akram Cheema has issued directives to district coordination officers to ensure provision of good quality and subsidised daily-use items to citizens at Ramazan bazaars.