LAHORE - One of the worst flour crises hit the Sunday bazaars this week where the shoppers scuffled and exchanged hot words with each other to get a flour bag on the officially fixed price of Rs 365 per 20-kg bag. Flour (Atta) was the main commodity in demand in Sunday bazaars following its prices swelled to Rs 450 per 20-kg bag in the open market. The poor customers were interested in no other commodity in the Sunday bazaars than the flour. The helter-skelter for the flour was panicky and everybody was anxious to get the flour first, which led to the scuffles and break-up of the long queues. It posed as there was a starvation and people were hit by the food scarcity. This scene was not common in one Sunday bazaar but in all major Sunday bazaars including the posh areas of Gulshan-e-Ravi, Johar Town, Shadman and Township. Ironically, the shoppers also complained that the flour supplied to the Sunday bazaars was substandard. Heavy downpour, sale of substandard flour and low quality fruits and vegetables were the other salient features of Sunday bazaars this week in the City. However, flour shortage was also witnessed in most of the Sunday bazaars where the supply was not enough to meet the demand while the vendors charged high prices of low quality fruits and vegetables, thanks to the authorities concerned for leaving the shoppers at the mercy of profiteers. Heavy rain marred Sunday bazaars shopping due to lack of sanitation and dewatering arrangements, causing inconvenience to the shopkeepers and shoppers. Shadman and Model Town Sunday bazaars were flooded with rainwater. However, the WASA officials along with disposal vehicles reached the spot and managed to clear the areas for setting up stalls after two hours hectic efforts. Most of the Sunday Bazaars witnessed very low turnout in the morning due to the downpour though people in a great number rushed to these bazaars in the afternoon. On the other hand, the prices of fruits and vegetables registered a surging trend this week as compared to the last week. A good number of shoppers failed to get even a single bag of flour in several Sunday bazaars due to the very limited supply of flour. According to the shoppers, the officials of the City District Govt and the market committees were absent from most of the Sunday bazaars due to which the vendors continued charging high prices of B-grade fruits and vegetables. Low quality fruits and vegetables were sold in most of the Sunday bazaars. According to the officials, District Coordination Officer visited several Sunday bazaars and issued show-cause notices to Sheikh Flourmills for selling substandard flour in the bazaar. The rates of potato (new) increased by Rs 3 to Rs 5 per kilogram and fixed at Rs 20 to Rs 25 per kilogram as compared to the last week price of Rs 20 to Rs 22 per kilogram. Interestingly, almost in all Sunday bazaars B-grade potatoes were sold. Official price of stored potatoes also increased by Rs two per kilogram and was fixed at Rs 12 to Rs 14 per kilogram as compared to the last week price of Rs 10 to Rs 12 per kilogram. The price of onions almost remained stable at Rs 10 to Rs 14 per kilogram from the last week price of Rs 11 to Rs 14 per kilogram. In majority of the Sunday bazaars the vendors sold low-grade and rotten onions. The price of tomatoes also increased by Rs five per kilogram and fixed at Rs 40 to Rs 45 per kilogram as compared to the previous week price of Rs 35 to Rs 40 per kilogram. Sliding trend in the price of Chinese ginger continued. Its rates had further reduced by Rs 2 to Rs 4 per kilogram and fixed at Rs 86 to Rs 88 per kilogram from the last week price of Rs 88 to Rs 92 per kilogram. The price of cucumber gained by Rs 2 to Rs 4 per kilogram and fixed at Rs 20 to Rs 26 per kilogram from the last week price of Rs 18 to Rs 20 per kilogram. The price of ladyfinger has gained by Rs 8 per kilogram and reached at Rs 26 to Rs 30 per kilogram from Rs 18 to Rs 22 per kilogram. The price of bitter gourd increased by Rs 3 per kilogram and was fixed at Rs 14 to Rs 18 per kilogram as compared to the last week price of Rs 11 to Rs 15 per kilogram. The price of green chillies also gained by Rs 2 per kilogram and fixed at Rs 18 to Rs 22 per kilogram as compared to the last week price of Rs 18 to Rs 20 per kilogram.