VEHARI-With the arrival of holy month of Ramazan, the prices of daily-use commodities have skyrocketed and have gone out of the reach of the common man, amid tall claims of the government. During a survey conducted by this correspondent in the different areas of the district, the residents expressed grave concern over the rising prices of staple foodstuffs. They regretted that though the Punjab government has been making tall claims, profiteers are exploiting the public unfettered. “Ramazanul Mubarak is a holy month for every Muslim, but unfortunately in Pakistan it has become the month of loot and exploitation,” lamented a citizen Naeem. He said that the government always make tall claims of providing relief to the public and action against the profiteers but, in fact, nothing happens and the looting spree continues unabated and unchecked. Some visitors at a local Ramazan Bazaar pointed out that the whole world even non-Muslim countries like the US, the UK and German provide relief to the Muslim through the provision of daily-use items on subsidised rates. But unfortunately in Pakistan which is a sign of Muslim pride and dignity in the world, people suffer multiple problems including black-marketing, dearness, sale of substandard foodstuffs and profiteering on special occasions like Ramazan.
A day ago, PML-N stalwart MNA Tehmina Doultan claimed at a meeting that anyone can compare the prices of Ramazan bazaars with that of the open market and performance of the Vehari administration with the management of other Ramazan bazaars across the province.
The Vehari DCO and Trader Alliance President Irshad Husain Bhatti have also expressed satisfaction over the rates at Ramazan bazaars. Though the administration and politicians are satisfied, the masses are decrying the skyrocketing prices.
The public are of the view that power outages have already deprived the labourers and workers of jobs and the prevailing bout of price hike is drawing the last nail in their coffin. “The common man has last the purchasing power and he is finding it hard to feed his family, they said.
They demanded the Punjab government to chalk out a mechanism for regulating the prices of daily-use items and take stern action against the profiteers. They also demanded the government that mere tall claims would not serve the purpose and practical step must be taken to provide relief to the public, especially in the holy month of Ramazan.