Daily Times

MIRPURKHAS: Instead of lowering prices, this Ramazan too sees a hike in the prices of essential commodities as the government fails to implement its fixed prices. The prices of fruits and vegetables have soared in different areas of District Mirpurkhas during the holy month of Ramzan as profiteers began to exploit the masses by putting up their desired rates. In the holy month of Ramazan, the prices of food items have soared to unprecedented heights. The rates of fruits and vegetables have been increased by Rs 300 per kg. In District Mirpurkhas bananas are being sold for 100 Rs dozen whereas apples, peaches, mangoes and apricots are being sold at Rs 200-300 per kg, while water melons and melons at Rs 80-100 per kilogram.

Similarly, the prices of vegetables have also been hiked, ladyfinger is being being sold at Rs 120 per kilogram. Talking to the Daily Times here on Thursday, President Market Merchant Association, Tarique Khan and other leaders of the fruits and vegetables market said that the shop owners charged higher prices for ginger, onion and sugar and many essentials. “These items in fact have been on the rise over the last couple of weeks,” they added. They have been demanded respective provincial governments and concerned district authorities to take notice of the unjust price hikes.

A fruit vendor in front of Minar Chowk, Saud Ahmed, held the commissioner’s price list in his pockets but refused to follow the rates mentioned. “The commissioner set the price sitting in his air-conditioned room and is unaware of the prices on the ground,” he said. “We get these bananas at Rs 90 and Rs 80 a dozen from the market. How can we sell them at the government’s rate?”

Every year the commissioner’s team comes and a chaos erupts in the market but nothing happens, he reasoned.

A similar trend was witnessed in Satellite Town. A vendor in Makkah Mosque Market’s vegetables and fruits had erased all the rates mentioned at the board at his shop and continued selling at exorbitant prices.