Directive to expedite crackdown on hoarders

LAHORE:Provincial Minister for Trade and Industries Mian Aslam Iqbal has said profiteers will be taken to task and steps had been taken to overcome price hike to provide relief to the masses.

Talking to the media outside the Punjab Assembly here, the minister said that instructions had been issued to expedite a crackdown on hoarders and profiteers. He added that strict monitoring on 18 essential items, including flour, sugar, ghee and Roti, was being ensured as magistrates would take on-the-spot action.

He emphasised that the media should also pinpoint profiteers and hoarders as provision of relief to the masses was the government priority. Aslam Iqbal termed the abolishing of scale, weight licensing fee an important step which would benefit small shopkeepers and vendors. Similarly, pushcarts and small kiosks would also be exempted from the fee. He, however, asserted that any practice of variation in weight and measurement would not be tolerated. The process of checking prices and weights would continue, he added.