Sugar being sold at Rs150 in Swat

Saturday, October 17, 2009 By Bureau report

PESHAWAR: While the sugar crisis eased in the provincial metropolis on Friday, it continued to deepen in other districts of the province where prices of the scarce commodity fluctuated between Rs100 to Rs150. Swat, Buner and other districts of the Malakand Division were still facing the sugar shortage. The main city of Mingora is also facing acute scarcity of sugar where it was selling for Rs130 to Rs150 in the noon while in the evening the consumers could not find the commodity. One of the utility stores’ employees told our Mingora correspondent that they were being provided 500 packets of one kilograms that could hardly cater to the need of the consumers. In Landikotal tehsil of Khyber Agency, five shopkeepers selling sugar at exorbitant rates were rounded up. The officials said during the checking it was observed that the five were selling the sugar for Rs100 to Rs120 per kilogram. They were arrested for overcharging and would be fined under the relevant law.