Rawalpindi: High inflation has broken the back of people as they even failed to get any substantial relief from Sunday Bazaars of the city. The vegetable and fruit sellers in open market shops as well as the weekly bazaars of the city are ‘looting’ people by selling commodities at rates much higher than those fixed by the authorities concerned.
A survey conducted by ‘The News’ of Sunday Bazaars and in open market shops revealed that prices of essential items remained out of reach of people. Potato is being sold at Rs25 per 1 kilogram against Rs14 per kilogram. Onion is available at Rs35 against Rs26, ginger at Rs160 against Rs90, tomato at Rs80 against Rs70, ladyfinger at Rs60 against Rs50, reddish at Rs40 against Rs30, green chilli at Rs80 against Rs60, bitter-gourd at Rs100 against Rs80, eggplant at Rs40 against Rs22, beans at Rs260 against Rs220, ‘arvi’ at Rs50 against Rs42, ‘kadoo’ at Rs50 against Rs32, cauliflower at Rs60 against Rs42. The profiteers are also selling 1-kilogram bell pepper at Rs120 against its rate fixed of Rs86 while cucumber is sold at Rs50 against Rs35.
Similarly, people are failed to purchase fruits due to high prices at Sunday Bazaars. One kilogram of apple (black) is being sold at Rs120 against it fixed price of Rs90, grapes at Rs200 against Rs150, guava at Rs100 against Rs85, dates at Rs200 against Rs160 and pomegranate at Rs150 against Rs90. One dozen bananas are available at Rs60 against Rs45.
Other items including meat, fish, chicken and eggs are also selling at higher rates against prices fixed by the city administration in Sunday Bazaars. Customers belonging to different walks of life have strongly protested against ever-increasing inflation even in weekly bazaars and in the open market. The Secretary Market Committee Nazar Gondal told ‘The News’ that they were registering FIRs against profiteers for charging high rates at Sunday Bazaars and in the open market. We have deployed special price magistrates in every bazaar to monitor profiteers. The special price magistrates are also monitoring prices in the open market, he claimed.
