The new wave of inflation hits the country before the arrival of Ramazan as the prices of edible items especially vegetables and fruits are touching the sky even one week before the holy month. The salaried class is most affected by the price hike.
The district management in different cities and towns perform a so called futile exercise by issuing a price list to shopkeepers but it results nothing as the traders receive the price from the customers at their own will and it seems that there is no one in the country that can keep check on the prices of kitchen commodities to provide some relief to the people. Each and every government in the past has left the common man on the mercy of different mafias and the traders mafia, which is the biggest clique among them. As there is not any check and balance system prevails in the country so these leeches are sucking the blood of the people freely.
The district administration has made the price list a source of perineal income, as shopkeepers buy the price list from them for Rs 20 on daily basis. Though in some big districts the deputy commissioner heads a toothless price control committee but it has not any power to take action against artificial price hike by the shopkeepers. These committees have nothing to do at all except hoodwinking the people. This state of affairs is only due to the lack of administrative powers with these committees.
Though right from the beginning there is not any writ of the government, but particularly this year, Ramazan falls at the juncture of time when there is not any government literally in the country as the caretaker setup has gone but the new government still not taken the charge so there is an atmosphere of real disorder in the country now.
It is the great ethical dilemma that most of the traders in Pakistan think that they can earn a huge profit to cover up the deficiency of the entire year during Ramazan, whereas in many non-Muslims Western countries, the shopkeepers reduce the prices of many items, just to benefit the Muslim community during the holy month. But here in Pakistan the majority of the traders often create fake inflation in the month of Ramazan, by committing undue hoarding and profiteering, which is also against the teaching of Islam too. However, it is the obligation of provincial governments to make such arrangements that deprived segments of the society may observe Ramazan fasts and celebrate Eid in a befitting manner.
If the local bodies, at the grass root level, would function honestly then the common man may get some sigh of relief from price hike as most of the low paid employees of the public service institutions take bribes on a monthly basis from the shopkeepers for allowing them to make a loot spree.
A permanent system should be devised to keep an eye on the prices of daily usage items in the different cities. It is suggested that powerful price control committees should be constituted in which lawyers, journalists, doctors, students, engineers and representatives of the traders should be inducted to check the prices of different edible items in the markets. These committees should have the authority to seal shops or cancel the license of the shopkeepers on selling goods at the price of their own will.