Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has failed to establish special 'Sasta Bazaar' for Ramazan in each town of Peshawar where the poor customers have been left on the mercy of profiteers who are looting them with both hands. Despite the tall claims of provincial government and district administration to ensure availability of cheap edible items, government has failed so far to establish a single 'Sasta Bazaar' in Peshawar.
Every year in the month of Ramazan-ul-Mubarik, the previous governments were managing to set up temporary stalls for providing edible items at subsidized rates and these Sasta Bazaars had been available in all four towns of Peshawar but this time in Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf government, the administration has ignored the masses to provide them relief while the shopkeepers and road side vendors are looting the masses by imposing self fixed rates of the commodities.
The well-off people can buy edible commodities of Ramazan even in expensive super stores but the common people are badly affected due to high prices of the commodities at ordinary shops. Huge rush on utility stores and long queue of the visitors forced the people to do shopping in open market.
When asked an officer of district administration, he told on condition of anonymity that provincial government have not provided any subsidy amount to the district administration and the district administration on their own could not afford to establish subsidized Bazars in each town of Peshawar.
He said as far as the sky rocketing prices is concern they are regularly raiding shopkeepers but it is always easy for them to pay the amount of fine and then resume his work as on its old style to loot the public. It is not difficult for a rich trader to pay Rs 3000 and 10,000 as on the other hand he earning in millions in the form of adulteration and hoarding. So the old outdated mechanism of British era fine system is needed to be reviewed and new rules should be introduced to keep check over the prices as well as quality of the edible.
Some of the shopkeepers in Bazaar are selling substandard food items and rice as per the rates of the original items. One resident of Peshawar Mushtaq Ali told this scribe that Shopkeepers and profiteers cannot be stopped simply by imposing fine as they are earning a lot and giving fine in million is not difficult for them.
It is prime responsibility of the government to ensure Sasta Bazaar on such important occasion as during month of Ramadan the consumption of every edible commodity is high and such situation needs government's attention to provide relief to poverty stricken masses.