Stretched to the limits

LAHORE: There is a limit to enduring pain but when a patient is on a ventilator, he/she has to bear the pain without complaining on the face of it.

Unfortunately, our common man, stretched to the limits of his/her capacity of bearing economic stress, is doing the same.

The incompetence of the government is at its peak and no one knows what will hit them next. When citizens wake up one morning, they find petrol prices have increased. The next morning it is the turn of power tariff, then gas rates so on and so forth.

These are the utilities that impact every citizen directly or indirectly. There is no escape, and the rulers don’t bother where the poor citizens arrange finances to indulge in these ‘luxuries’. The common man has also been thoroughly educated. He/she knows decline in rupee value translates into price hikes all over. The ever-devaluing rupee, therefore, is as much a nightmare for him as the increase in utility rates. Citizens are worried as they see no end to the downfall they have witnessed in recent years.

As far as edibles are concerned, they have two worries; the first is the availability and other is the price. Quality of course is also a major concern. Milk is adulterated in so many ways that it would take a scientist to find out the adulterant. The price of milk is rising as sharply as its purity is declining. Wheat, the staple food of the nation, has gone out of reach of poor and lower middle-income groups. Sugar mafia has kept the government regulators at bay. High quality sugar costs above Rs140/ kg. Although low quality sweetener is less expensive, it is also less sweet, which means it’s needed in higher quantities to sweeten the edibles compared with top quality sugar.

At Rs1,400-1,600/kg the mutton has gone out of reach of even the middle class. The poor cannot even dream of consuming mutton or even beef. Chicken prices have been stubbornly high for the last two years. The consumption of animal protein has sharply declined in our country. The eggs, another rich source of protein, have become highly expensive being available in the range of Rs175-220/dozen.

Some vegetables are still affordable based on supply and demand dynamics, most probably being perishable items. The vegetables with longer shelf life like onion, potato, and ginger remain in the higher range throughout the year. The rates of spices and pulses have touched new heights. Fresh and healthy fruits are now meant for the rich only. The poor and the lower middle class do not have enough cash to even buy the basic foods like wheat, sugar, pulses, spices, and edible oil.

The turmoil in prices seen these has no precedent in our history. The state has no control over prices. The prices of many finished products have also increased in line with decline in rupee value and high inflation. But the impact is not so sharp. The prices of cars, air conditioners, and home appliances have increased 20-25 percent in the past two years, but the price of wheat, sugar and eggs have doubled. The rates of mutton, beef, chicken, and edible oil have increased in the range of 40-50 percent.

Human beings can survive without air conditioners, refrigerators, or TV sets but they would grow weak if they are deprived of a minimum quantity of nutritious food. The lower middle class and even those that are a little more affluent have been forced to stop use of air conditioners because they cannot afford the high tariff of electricity.

The use of other electronic gadgets has also been curtailed. With the increase in petroleum rates even well-to-do families have either stopped using their cars or use them in case of emergency. It should be a matter of extreme concern for the rulers if the people start cutting down their food intake, which they are these days. This way we are weakening the health of the nation already burdened with stunted growth in over 40 percent children due to malnutrition.

It is true there are numerous factors that impacted the food prices but the major factor in this regard is the absence of government writ. It is the absence of the commitment of the government that has encouraged middlemen, hoarders, manipulators, and speculators to play havoc with edibles’ prices and rupee value. If the government writ is fully established, we will see a sharp decline in the rates of edibles, in line with the regional economies.