Too pricy a Ramazan this year

Rawalpindi: Market watchers and consumers observe that undue profiteering by traders has become an inevitable feature of Ramazan in Rawalpindi city. For many city residents, this blessed month is looking to be even more unbearable because of current inflation.

“The prices of all commodities including vegetables, milk, fruits, red meat, and chicken have increased sharply in the past couple of days, making us the fasting citizens apprehensive about the prices of essentials in the coming days,” says Mir Damad. “As usual, unscrupulous traders are making windfall profits from the frantic Ramazan shoppers, belying all assurances of the government to keep prices stable in the month of fasting,” says Akmal Hussain.

“This is just shameless profiteering. Why are the prices rising at such a crazy rate even though the stock of vegetables and spices is more than adequate,” says Safdar Abbas, chief of the Market Monitoring Cell at the Consumers Association. “Ramazan is the most important month for us. Eating satisfactorily at Sehri and Iftar for the whole month is one of our priorities. As the price has gone up beyond imagination, the rich might end up buying excessively while the poor have lost the capacity to afford the bare minimum,” says Payam Haidri.

“During Ramazan, while people fast, the market shows its wrath through yet another spell of price hikes of essential commodities. All food items have increased to an almost haunting level. For low-income earners, high prices of essential commodities have led to a significant reduction in their purchasing power,” says Athar Ali.

“There has not been an increase in wages to match the price hikes. Therefore, people are struggling to manage daily necessities for their families. Middle-income households are forced to cut down on many expenses and make significant lifestyle adjustments as they feel the pinch of the increased costs of living. Even if one manages to pay for the food of his family, all the other fundamental necessities remain unfulfilled,” says Razi Abedi.

“The government is failing to stop the syndicate of unscrupulous traders. Most of the time, happiness comes from satisfaction. One cannot be happy if he is unable to fulfill the basic needs of his and his family. Every Ramazan, people face the same issue. But in this Ramazan, the skyrocketing prices of daily commodities have rendered it almost impossible to get by even for a single day without worrying about the next,” says Kalbe Hasan. Shahid Ali says, “The happenings this Ramazan have broken all previous records. A few months ago, those who could not afford beef or mutton were satisfied with poultry chicken. During this period, the price of poultry essentially doubled and they cannot even afford chicken anymore. Most people no longer have even the minimum opportunity to eat well at least once a week.”