SANGLA HILL
With the arrival of Ramazan, the rates of daily-use items have skyrocketed as profiteers and hoarders are hell bent on fleecing the consumers during the holy month.
The prices of edibles have already gone up. Vegetables, fruits, and all other basic commodities have witnessed 25 to 30 percent increase prices, increasing burden on the common man. Not only the prices of fruit and vegetables have gone up in Ramazan but also the prices of more than 20 other daily-use commodities like sugar, rice, pulses, chicken, beef and mutton have increased.
Like the past years, Nankana Sahib district administration has failed to control prices. The price lists issued by the local administration seem a showpiece in the shops since the shopkeepers are not following the fixed rates. The wholesalers and retailers, mostly of fruit and vegetables, are enjoying complete discretion and fleecing the consumers. The price of sugar has gone up by Rs5 and reached Rs60 per kilogramme.
Dates are available at Rs200 to Rs400per kilogramme while chicken is being sold at Rs320 to 360 per kilogramme. Gram has soared to Rs120 to 140 per kilogramme. Yogurt is being sold at Rs90 to Rs110 while one litre of milk costs Rs80 to Rs 90.
The prices of most of the vegetables including potato, onion, ginger, ladyfinger, cauliflower, black pepper, lemon, and cabbage also increased.
Similarly, the prices of apple, grapes, banana, mango, melon, and other fruits have increased by 30 to 40 percent.
The purchasers complained that “it is a yearly routine that before the start of Ramazan, the shopkeepers increase the prices of fruits and vegetables which is unnecessary and against the spirit of Islam”. Farmer Akhter Naveed said that the price-hike had made it impossible for the common man to run his kitchen. “Even in Ramazan, they have no shame,” he said. Although the shopkeepers were of the view that they had nothing to do with the price hike and argued that the prices had increased in the wholesale market. The prices also remained high at the so-called ‘low-price’ Sunday bazaars. A similar increase has been seen in the prices of kitchen items, the prices of which have been on the rise since the last week.  The consumers complained that the Sasta Bazaars could only be useful if the prices were checked by the administration and stern action taken against the profiteers. During the visit to various markets, mangoes were being sold at Rs100-160 per kilogramme, bananas at Rs160-255 per dozen and apple at Rs200-250 per kilogramme. While the potatoes were being sold at Rs60-80 per kilogramme, tomatoes were available at Rs50 to70 per kilogramme, onion was available at Rs50 per kilogramme, curd at Rs120 per kilogramme, pumpkin at Rs 40-45 per kilogramme, tinda at Rs 60-70 per kilogramme, green toori at Rs 50-60 per kilogramme, ladyfinger at Rs 60 per kilogramme, bitter gourd (Karela) at Rs 50-70 per kilogramme and capsicum at Rs 60-80 per kilogramme.