Altaf Hamid Rao.
MIRPUR (AJK), (Parliament Times): : With the very begging of the Holy month of Ramadan, profiteers and hoarders, across Azad Jammu & Kashmir including this district, started fleecing the consumers, through artificial price hike, by charging the prices of the commodities of daily use, including edibles, of their own choice.
And at the same time, the AJK authorities, instead of taking stringent measures to overcome the artificially-created dearness on the part of the profiteers and hoarders of the commodities of daily life, asserted that they have established special Ramadan bazaars in various parts of all AJK districts including the capital city of Muzaffarabad as well as the divisional headquarters of Mirpur and Rawalakot in the state.
Authorities in the sittingn coalition AJK government have asserted they were setting up Ramadan Bazars across AJK to ensure supply of edibles at subsidized rates:
Most of the shopkeepers, including the central fruit and vegetables market in Mirpur, are found involved in overcharging the rates of the edibles, were charging the excessive cost of the items – including vegetables, fruit, soft drinks, milk, Yogurt, mutton, beef, chicken, bread, eggs and dates of their own choice as against the rates fixed by the District Price Control Committee.
“The District Price Control Committees in all AJK districts seemed absolutely failed in getting controlled the prices of the commodities of daily use”, said A.H. Nizami, Convener Mirpur Consumers Forum.
“The prices of almost all edible items have gone out of reach of the common man”, said Bashir Kashmiri, a constable a low-paid employee in local IT department. “We can’t think about taking meat even in a single meal”, said Kashmiri who was much worried about passing the Holy month of Ramadan in a comfortable manner.
At the same time, AJK authorities asserted that they have established special Ramadan Bazars under the spirit to ensure the required supply of edibles to the general consumers at subsidized rates during the ongoing Holy month of Ramzan.
Meanwhile a senior AJK government official, who declined to be identified, here Monday told our Special Jammu and Kashmir state Correspondent Altaf Hamid Rao that all the district administrations in all AJK district have taken stringent measures to discourage profiteering, hoarding and artificial scarcity of edible items during and after the Holy month of Ramzan. He asserted that those involved in such unlawful exercise will be booked. “The sanctity of this Holy month will be maintained in all circumstances”, the official declared.
“The state government has ensured the availability of edibles including mutton, beef, chicken, sugar, vegetables, fruit, flour, rice, pulses and other items at inexpensive rates at Ramzan bazaars as fixed by the concerned district administrations”, according to the official.
Mirpur district administration says it has yet launched special Ramzan Bazar in central city’s Quaid e Azam Stadium where commodities are available at inexpensive rates fixed by the administration.
