Stores stop selling fruit, vegetables after action

LAHORE:Majority of mega grocery stores in the provincial metropolis stopped selling fruits and vegetables following a crackdown of district administration Lahore here Monday.

However, the district administration claimed that they continued to vigilantly monitor all the fruit and vegetable markets and sellers in the provincial capital and would not allow overcharging.

Lahore deputy commissioner said that all officers should constantly pay visits to fruit and vegetable markets, shops, stores and stalls to ensure availability of fruits and vegetables on rates fixed by the government. He directed his officers to check fairness of auction proceedings and recently set up farmer markets.

Lahore Commissioner Asif Bilal Lodhi and Deputy Commissioner Danish Afzaal paid surprise visits to various city markets and camps which had been set up in critical markets to check the on-ground performance of the assigned price control magistrates. Lahore Deputy Commissioner Danish Afzaal paid surprise visit to Kahna Kacha fruit and vegetable market and observed auction proceeding of onion and potato. He also visited farmers markets.

Moreover, Additional Deputy Commissioners, Assistant Commissioners, AC Raiwind, AC Model Town, AC City and AC Cantt visited fruit and vegetables markets in their jurisdiction. The district administration has also issued its daily price control report showing that the price control magistrates inspected 127 out of which 68 violations were reported, on which a fine of Rs154,000 was imposed while nine cases were registered against profiteers. Seven shopkeepers involved in massive overcharging were directly sent to jail.

On the other hand, majority of the big grocery stores in the city have stopped selling fruits and vegetables due to enforcement of government rates on fruits and vegetables. A senior employee of a big grocery store situated at Thokar Niaz Beig said that the store can’t sell fruits and vegetables on rates fixed by the government due to extra overheads.

He claimed that the quality of fruits and vegetables being sold in their stores was much better than those being sold across the city. Spokesman for the district administration said that the government could not compel anyone for selling fruits and vegetables but the government would not allow anyone to hoard and overcharge these commodities.