Daily Times

Compared to the rest of Pakistan, residents of Karachi are currently experiencing the highest levels of frustration and sadness as a result of rising prices of essential commodities, the worst types of anarchy, and pervasive crimes in the city, according to the survey conducted by the Daily Times here on Saturday.

There is no part of Karachi where residents may feel safe while police and Rangers’ vehicles can be seen patrolling the city. It has now come out of jokes and funny Facebook posts that the fear of looting of citizens is heightened by seeing the checkpoints of police and other law enforcement agencies. Along with lawlessness, rising inflation and dwindling sources of income have impacted nearly every socioeconomic group in the country.

For the week ending March 3, 2022, the Sensitive Price Indicator (SPI) showed a rise of 0.04 percent due to increases in the prices of food items such as chicken (10.47 percent), bananas (7.06 percent), vegetable ghee 1kg (4.08 percent), vegetable ghee 2.5kg (3.69 percent), powdered milk (1.11 percent), and non-food items, LPG (9.45 percent), according to the Pakistan Bureau of Statistics (PBS).

“There are no benefits for the poor from the government’s declarations,” according to Inayat Hussain who is working as a peon at one of the country’s most prestigious media houses. “It had been declared by the Sindh government that the minimum salary for all workers would be Rs. 25000. Eight months have gone by, the next budget is about to come, and my pay is still barely Rs.16,000. What was a hundred rupees last year is now getting two hundred rupees, but my pay has remained static,” Inayat said adding that “I am urging the government to do more than simply declare an increase in our wages.”

According to the survey, prices of essential commodities, mainly food items including milk, rice, wheat, pulses, sugar, edible oils, fruits, ginger, garlic, onion, and potato, have shown an upward trend in the past week. Apart from food items, there has been a huge increase in the prices of other items, especially medicines.

Considering growing food prices, the government’s concern about how they would affect the lives of the poor is understandable. A freehand has been given to everyone in the food industry to raise prices as high as possible, including investors, middlemen, and retailers. When it comes to punishing those who break the law, the government has not been able to scare stakeholders and market forces enough to make them fearful of the consequences of any misconduct.

On the one hand, confectionery, bakery, and powdered milk producers have raised prices while decreasing the weight of their products. It appears that the government did not take manufacturers to task for artificially raising prices in the name of growing exchange rate parity and raw material costs.

Despite the recent announcement of Rs 10 reduction in petrol and diesel prices by Prime Minister Imran Khan, the price of milk and yogurt in Karachi has been increased unannounced by Rs 10 to 20 per liter, which has affected not only the poor but also the middle class.