Hike in price of roti irks Pindiites

Rawalpindi : The residents have raised voices against the ‘tandoor’ owners who have not only reduced the weight of ‘roti’ and ‘naan’ but also increased their prices unilaterally without any official announcement.

According to the details, the ‘roti’ and ‘naan’ are being sold at different prices in various localities of the city. Tandoor owners are found selling ‘roti’ from Rs12 to Rs15, ‘naan’ from Rs18 to Rs20, ‘roghni naan’ from Rs30 to Rs40, and ‘tandoori paratha’ from Rs35 to Rs40 in different areas of the city.

The people are already facing negative impacts of rising prices of sugar, ghee, fruits, vegetables, and flour and now the ‘tandoor’ owners are making their life difficult by unilaterally increasing the prices of ‘roti’ and ‘naan’.

Haroon Abbasi, a ‘tandoor’ owner, said that they can no longer afford to sell the bread at the old rates because the price of ‘roti’ was increased during the past year, although the price of flour was raised several times.

“We are just transferring the impact of the rising cost of production to the customers due to substantial increase in rates of power, gas, and flour in the last few months,” he said.

Habibullah, a resident of Rawalpindi, said “I have purchased ‘naan’ at Rs 20 per piece and ‘sheermal’ at Rs60 per piece that showed a significant jump in their prices.”

“The ‘tandoor’ and bakery owners are increasing prices on their own, which can only cause more price hikes. The situation is getting worse for the common people who seem to be struggling to make their both ends meet,” he said. The posh restaurants are also cashing in on the situation as customers have to pay Rs. 30 to Rs. 40 for simple ‘roti’.