Government’s negligence to control price hike
After the devastating floods in the country, the government failed to control the skyrocketing prices of basic necessities. Traders and vendors blame the supply chain disruption for rising prices of all fresh fruits and vegetables in central Punjab.
In an interview to Express Tribune, vegetable grower Hanif Bhatti said the remaining crops were lost due to severe floods in several parts of the region. Road traffic is also disrupted, he added, making it difficult to transport goods from farms to markets.
On the other hand, provinces and local governments focused on political activities in the province,” he said. Instead of helping the people by controlling skyrocketing prices, it seems that government agencies are busy organizing public meetings in different areas of the province. Although the local authorities have officially managed to reduce the onion price by over 60 rupees, they have not been able to meet the official rates of 120-128 rupees per kg in the retail market.
On Sunday, an onion of one of the city varieties broke the official price and was traded at 250-300 rupees per kg. In most areas, greengrocers and street vendors sold mixed onion varieties for Rs 220-230 per kg, which is almost double the official price.
Similarly, the official price of tomato, which was selling at Rs 300 per kg last week, has come down. However, the market price has not changed because there is no effective price control mechanism.
Government’s negligence to control price hike
The official price of poultry has also been hiked by Rs 7 per kg as it is pegged at Rs 369 per kg. But that kg was exchanged for 400-460 rupees in the city.
