‘Ramazan bazaars performance excellent’

LAHORE

Better arrangements to provide quality edibles at control and less rates are made in Punjab, especially in Lahore Ramazan bazaars as compared to the rest of the country while arrest of 4,327, Rs4.6 million fine is reflection of the government efforts to provide relief to people.

These views were expressed by the experts in Jang Economic Session on ‘performance of Ramazan bazaars’, here on Thursday. The panellists were Lahore Commissioner Abdullah Khan Sumbal, Nasir Saeed, Jamshaid Iqbal Cheema, Rehmatullah Javeed, Sajida Mir and Ali Hassan while hosted by Sikandar Lodhi.

Abdullah Khan Sumbal said that with the effective monitoring in Ramazan bazaars, quality of edibles and price mechanism ensured which resulted in improvement of these bazaars as compared to the past. Additionally, air-conditioned bazaars and covered parking facilities have also been provided to the visitors in the special makeshift markets while so far 2.7 million people benefited from 31 Ramazan bazaars. He claimed that it was not fraud rather public welfare initiative. He said the government runs advertising campaign to create awareness nor for the publicity. He believed that if metro, orange line type facilities would not be given to Lahore – one of the populated city – then the situation of it would also turn like Karachi. 

Nasir Saeed said that establishment of Ramazan bazaars was appreciating work of the Punjab government while the performance of these markets was exemplary.

He said edibles quality had been ensured along with sale at lower rates. He said the other provinces should also learn from Punjab experience and follow it to provide relief to public.

Jamshaid Iqbal Cheema said that Rs1.75 billion subsidy in Ramazan bazaars was equal to Rs9 per capita subsidy of population of the province which was a joke. He alleged substandard items sale in Ramazan bazaar in the name of cheap product was fraud with public. He called for improving the food authority performance.

He said 60 percent population living below the poverty line and ratio of Ramazan bazaars and other facilities was very thin as compared to the population size. 

Rehmatullah Javeed said that overcharging and violation of price list was failure of the government and administration due to which public faced problems. He called for ending the role of middleman so that public could get relief in the holy month. He stressed the need of strict implementation of price list to control artificial inflation.

He said trend of increasing the rates after police intervention was common which should be discouraged.

Sajida Mir said the situation of weekly makeshift markets and Ramazan bazaars was not different as sale of substandard items was multiplying the public problems. She called for ensuring relief to all over Pakistan instead of one province only.

Ali Hassan said that availability of quality products at control rates in Ramazan bazaars was a good initiative. He called for evolving mechanism to get citizen feedback who visited these bazaars to further improve the bazaars.