Overcharging on edibles unabated

Fruit and vegetable sellers are openly charging high prices for their commodities. These vendors have encroached on footpaths, greenbelts and roads of various residential localities and big commercial centres of the city. 

The city administration has deputed 80 price control magistrates to check overcharging of essential edibles, but the problem is getting bad to worse in several city localities.  Township and Green Town markets are full of fruit and vegetable vendors, who have occupied both sides of main roads of these bazaars and are involved in fleecing the buyers. 

These vendors do not display official rate list, and misbehave with the buyers over their demand for displaying rate list, or their complaints about overcharging. 

In 2013, the Township administration had established a small camp in Township Main Bazaar where a price control magistrate and two officials of the town administration used to sit in the camp and listened to public complaints.

However, some three days back, the camp was closed and when The News pointed out this to the official spokesman of the City government, instead of reactivating this camp, the government completely removed the camp and its infrastructure from the spot.

Iftikhar Ahmed, a resident of Township, said he had been witnessing the camp for the past four years and he had often lodged complaints about overcharging from the fruit and vegetable vendors with the officials sitting in the camp. “The camp was a threat for the vendors and after its removal they started overcharging,” he said. 

A visit to Township market confirmed overcharging by fruit and vegetable sellers as majority of the vendors are charging an extra amount of Rs 25 to Rs 30 on every product. For example, the official rate of tomatoes was Rs 41 per kg but in Township market it was being sold at Rs 60 to Rs 65 per kilogram. Similarly official rate of Arvi is Rs 47 but in this market it was being sold at Rs 67 per kg. An official rate of Chaunsa mango is Rs 100 per kg but it was being sold at Rs 120 to Rs 130 per kilogram. 

Fruit and vegetable vendors are selling their products while encroaching on roadsides or footpaths in different city localities. The first question which comes to mind is who allowed them to encroach upon this place and why they are not being removed.

Iqbal, a roadside fruit vendor at Main Boulevard Johar Town leading from Doctors Hospital to Expo Centre, said he pays a handsome amount as “rent” for encroaching the footpath and road for his business. He, however, refused to disclose the name and claimed that no official of the city administration can remove him or any other fruit vendor from the city roads because they pay “rent” on monthly basis. “In case of any operation, I get advance information and then I move back my setup to the setback of a nearby plaza to avoid any action,” he said.

One can witness similar vendors in majority of main roads in Johar Town, Faisal Town, Township, Wapda Town, Garden Town, Muslim Town, Wahdat Colony, Allama Iqbal Town, Gulberg Main Market, Mughalpura and several other localities of the city. 

These vendors are overcharging and not displaying CDGL’s rate list. In case a citizen demands them the list, they fearlessly say they didn’t sale as per the list and if the argument heated further the vendors misbehave with them, who have no option except to retreat. 

Citizens demanded the chief minister personally look into the matter and a probe should be carried out to unveil which government functionaries are beneficiary of these vendors by allowing them to do the business on public place.

On the other hand, a spokesman of the City government claimed that more than 80 price control magistrates are working in the city and are imposing heavy fine and arresting dozens of people every day.