Pindiites hard hit by price hike near Ramazan

Rawalpindi

Though start of Ramazan brings in joy of the forthcoming Eid but the increased stress caused by uncontrolled prices of daily essentials subdues that pleasure.

“Price hike during Ramazan has become a dominant tradition though the government always reiterates its promise to keep prices at tolerable level. Despite repeated assurance from the government, the price of daily essentials has seen phenomenal rise before Ramazan. The price list handed over to the shopkeepers is just hung by the wall but never implemented,” says Najmul Hasan from Shah Khalid Colony.

“The trend is no different this year, says Ziaul Hasan, a resident of Gulzare Quaid. “Just a day before Ramazan I went to the Mandi to buy some vegetables but the price was unreasonable,” adds Zia.

“Occasional crackdowns on markets are not bearing any fruit. It is as ineffective as other similar initiatives taken in the past. Moreover, such drives hardly bring any relief for consumers as government sustains interests of traders,” complains Shumail Ali, a consumer from Mamgraal Town.

Hamid Naqi says: “Traders refuse to desist from profiteering throughout the year but in the month of Ramazan and there is no profit limit for the retailers. The prices of daily essentials go up beyond the common man’s purchasing power, thus making life difficult for them, as the money saved by them for Eid shopping is also consumed.”

“In this holy month people are supposed to purify themselves from all sorts of greed, pray to Almighty Allah for forgiveness for their wrongdoings, and reform themselves to become better persons, but what we see here is totally opposite. This attitude of ours must be changed,” says Khalid Hussain from Fazal Town.

“With Ramazan around the corner, the kitchen items have become costlier. Condiments, cooking oil, vegetable ghee, tea, cold drinks, grain, wheat flour, rice, onion, ginger, garlic, turmeric, lemon, coriander, cucumber, green chilli, tomatoes, potatoes, brinjal, apples, mangoes, bananas, are equally expensive. I can’t tell you how we manage fasting every year,” says Ghulam Ali Shah, a school teacher, from Tajabad.

“Poultry products are also very costly including eggs and broiler chicken. The average price of broiler chicken meat is also unbearable. I can’t imagine buying other meat items like beef and mutton,” adds Ghulam Ali.

“I think our Sehri will consist of simple ‘roti’ (no paratha) eaten with cooked pulses such as ‘moong’, ‘masoor’, mash etc. along with little yogurt and just a cup of tea while at Iftar time we may have some dates, ‘pakoras’, ‘shakkar cola’ and at times Roohafza sans any fruit as I belong to a fixed income group,” says Zafar Mehdi, a lower division clerk from Dhoke Hafiz. 

“Ramazan teaches us to practice self-control, self-discipline, sacrifice and empathy for the less fortunate; thus encourages generosity and charity. What a paradox to what we see happening around. An artificial shortage is created in the wholesale market to raise the prices,” laments Turab Naqvi, a factory worker from Dhoke Lilaal.

“The price hike has badly hit the already inadequate budgets of the lower and middle class, thanks to the high inflation rate. The demons of profiteers and hoarders come out of dungeon, when the devil is chained in, with the beginning of Ramadan. The authorities are never seen to begin any solid crackdown against them rather resorts to easier solution of announcing the so-called Ramazan package or Sasta bazaar,” says Hamayat Ali, a tenant from Champion Colony.