The most holy month for Muslims, eighth month in the Hijri calendar, Ramazan has begun. It is the month for which the Muslims, throughout the world, wait for it anxiously to observe fasts during the whole month. They maintain sanctity during the month by abstaining themselves from eating and drinking openly but also refrain sins on the order of Almighty Allah.
This is the month when every person weather belongs to upper class or hails from middle or lower class of the society needs agricultural commodities, edible items and fruits on reasonable rates because everyone has the right to enjoy the benefits of the holy month but on the other hand the traders and business community think that they can earn a good margin of profit during this month. They increase the prices of kitchen items manifold all of a sudden at the arrival of Ramazan to cover up the deficiency of remaining eleven months of the year. As a matter of the pitiless traders take the advantage of the people’s compulsion.
It is the prime obligation of the provincial governments to make arrangements to retain the prices of necessary kitchen items at the lowest level during all the times especially in the month of holy Ramazan so that the people may buy fruits , vegetables and meat at reasonable rates to keep their stoves alive but it is very unfortunate that each and every government in the past neither gave attention towards it nor any mechanism could be developed to check the prices of the daily usage items in the country.
The lack of monitory system in the markets not only allow the traders to get undue immense margin profit by looting the people’s pockets but also the people are forced to ponder that the there is no one to keep check and balance and the government has left them on the mercy of different mafias including business cartel.
Though there is a so called system that prevails in almost every city of the country under which a price control committee works under the district administration, but it has not any authority to punish the shopkeepers responsible for hoardings and profiteering. It is the high time that if the newly formed provincial governments want to serve the people and provide them some kind of relief from the inflation to them in true sense, they will have to control the prices of energy sector as well as edible kitchen items.
First of all, the government should strengthen the price control committee at tehsil level by giving more powers to them as they can take action against the traders who are minting unwarranted profit during entire year particularly on the occasion of Ramazan and Eids every year as the common man may take part in the happiness of these religious rituals. The notables from every segment of the society including doctors, engineers, journalists, lawyers, youth representatives and teachers should be inducted in these price control committees and they should be asked to work honorary in the best interest of the nation. The consistent meetings of these committees should be held fortnightly to review the price of necessary kitchen items on regular basis as the people may get sigh of relief.
