Black marketing of cigarettes at its peak in Sialkot

Black marketing of cigarettes of various brands is at its peak in Sialkot and other parts of Sialkot district from which agency holders and vendors were minting money by fleecing smokers. Cigarettes of different bands were being sold at very high prices and there was nobody to check the highhandedness of the agency holder and vendors in the area.
It may be pertinent to mention that few days before the announcement of federal budget the agency holder dumped the stock of cigarettes just for money making as a result of which cigarettes were being sold at high prices, whereas the cigarettes manufacturers companies had not yet announced the prices of different brands of the cigarettes.
Socio-political circles had appealed to all concerned high ups and cigarettes manufacturing companies to take immediate action against the agency holders to facilitate the masses and the cigarette manufacturers should clear their position immediately through advertisements in national dailies at earliest possible.
These circles urged upon the government functionaries to take strict action against the cigarette agency holder and show their existence. They said that government was trying its utmost to snatch the bread and butter of the poor masses and nothing has been announced for the common man in the budget.
The tall claims of controlling prices of daily commodities use by the district administration is turning out to be hollow as the spiralling prices of commodities are adversely affecting the common man. The current unprecedented hike in prices of vegetable, fruit and other articles of daily use have put immense pressure of high prices on consumers in Sialkot district, they said.
The efficiency of price control committees are invisible and totally flapped in controlling the price hike and pulling the strings of profiteers resultantly the shopkeepers are fleecing the consumers with both hands. Meat was being sold at Rs 325 to Rs 350 per kg and beef at Rs 200 to Rs 250 per kg while onion Rs 35, potato Rs 30, tomato Rs 35 per kilogram are being sold at in the city market and shopkeepers are involved in overcharging and minting huge profit.