Plan finalised to curb price-hike in Ramazan

PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Food Department has finalised a comprehensive strategy for the upcoming Ramadan to ensure the availability of essential food items, control prices, and curb the sale of substandard food products.

The initiative has been taken on the directives of Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur and KP Minister for Food Zahir Shah Toru, said an official handout on Monday.Special teams were constituted to effectively counter artificial inflation, hoarding and the sale of low-quality food across the province.

Speaking about the Ramadan strategy, the minister said that the KP Food Safety Authority would conduct extensive inspections throughout Ramazan to ensure the availability of safe and high-quality food for citizens.

The minister said that food authority teams would set up checkpoints at entry points of major cities, including Peshawar, to prevent the supply of substandard food items. Also, he added that pre-Ramazan inspections would focus on raw materials of dairy-based products such as milkshakes, snacks, ice-cream, and other food items to ensure compliance with health and safety standards.

Under the Ramazan and pre-Ramazan strategy, divisional deputy directors of the Food Department and district food controllers would oversee raids against hoarders, while strict monitoring of food availability and pricing in markets would continue throughout the holy month.

Warning food businesses involved in hoarding and food adulteration, Toru reaffirmed that strict legal action would be taken against those responsible for artificial price-hike and the sale of substandard food.

He also urged the citizens to report any case of hoarding or unsafe food practices to the food department so that swift action could be taken.