MIRPUR (Kashmir English): Azad Jammu and Kashmir (AJK) is reeling under steep hikes in the prices of essential commodities as prices of daily food items almost doubled in the state since the start of holy month of Ramadan.
Profiteers and hoarders, across AJK, have been fleecing the consumers, through artificial price hike and overcharging the daily use items.
AJK government officials
And at the same time, the AJK authorities, instead of taking stringent measures to overcome the artificially-created dearness by the profiteers and hoarders of the commodities of daily life, assert that they have established special Ramadan bazaars.
They said such bazaars have been set up in capital city of Muzaffarabad as well as the divisional headquarters of Mirpur, Rawalakot and other cities to ensure supply of edibles at subsidized rates.
However, a survey found most of the shopkeepers, including the central fruit and vegetables market in Mirpur, involved in overcharging the edibles.
The prices of vegetables, fruit, soft drinks, milk, Yogurt, mutton, beef, chicken, bread, eggs and dates are going up since the start of Ramadan contrary to the claims of availability of commodities at rates fixed by the District Price Control Committees.
“The District Price Control Committees in all AJK districts seemed absolutely failed in getting controlled the prices of the commodities of daily use”, according to A.H. Nizami, Convener Mirpur Consumers Forum.
He said the prices of almost all edible items have gone out of reach of the common man.
Meanwhile, a senior AJK government official, who declined to be identified, said that all the district administrations in AJK have taken stringent measures to discourage profiteering, hoarding and artificial scarcity of edible items during and after the Holy month of Ramadan.
He asserted that those involved in such unlawful exercise will be booked.
Mirpur district administration has said that it has yet launched special Ramadan Bazar in central city’s Quaid-e-Azam Stadium where commodities are available at rates fixed by the administration.
