Minister orders strict monitoring of essential items' prices

LAHORE: Provincial Minister for Industries and Trade Mian Aslam Iqbal Tuesday directed the administration as well as line departments to regularly and strictly monitor prices and supply and demand of essential items in the markets.

According to the Provincial Industries Department here, the minister directed that every effort should be made to sell quality items at government fixed rates and consumers' rights should be protected.

He ordered for continuing indiscriminate crackdown on hoarders and illegal profiteers as the mafia did not deserve any leniency. "Jail is the best place for those who usurp public rights by earning illegal profit and anti-people elements will not be allowed to add to miseries of the masses for the sake of some coins," the minister added.

Legitimate profit was the right of sellers, but illegal profiteering was a dacoity, he said and vowed to go to every extent to protect consumers’ rights.

The government would not leave the people at the mercy of exploiters and the administration should remain fully vigilant to overcome hoarding and illegal profiteering. There was no room for any negligence in this regard and action should be initiated against shopkeepers failing to display the rate lists at some visible places, he ordered.