With the advent of holy month of Ramazan, the prices of daily use items have, as usual, started leaping upwards much to the disenchantment of the poor and the housewives.
Although local authorities do adopt measures to ensure that essential items remain within the reach of the common man, the shopkeepers hardly follow the official price list and charge at their will.
The month of Ramazan for them is to make money the easy way. Since the official indulgence generally remains ineffective, consumer resistance appears to be the only answer to this malady, which could force prices to remain stable.
Unfortunately, a large number of non-governmental organisations (NGOs), which operate in the country, none has ever endeavoured to educate the people on this particular aspect.
They have their own agenda on which they work and pick up issues of their interest, often blowing up the events out of proportion to suit their line of action.
The protagonists of consumer resistance have a strong point in their theory that in case of perishable items if people show reluctance to buy they could force the prices come down because these items cannot be stored for a longer period. For instance, fruits, vegetable, even milk and curd. But the madness, which people display to buy these items, encourages the shopkeepers to fix and demand their own price.
The local authorities, they say, are handicapped because they cannot force implementation in the absence of powers to punish the errant sellers.
The City District Government Karachi (CDGK) has announced the prices, agreed upon after meetings with respective traders associations of different essential commodities for Ramazan and thereafter. The list contains 48 items.
The Deputy District Officers, Revenue (DDOR), who would be conducting raids to check implementation of the agreement, lack powers to punish the violators.
The CDGK has approached the Sindh government to invest the DDoRs with magisterial powers to enable them punish the violators on the spot.
A related issue, which is equally important, is that of providing protection to the rights and interests of the consumers.
The Helpline Trust (THT) assessment shows that due to lack of consumer protection laws and the lack of enforcement of existing food and drug laws, the callous manufacturers and wholesalers play havoc with the lives of the consumers and the markets are full of counterfeit, sub-standard and adulterated foods, beverages and medicines, which are being marketed openly in the cities without fear of punishment.
According to a recent survey, over 40 percent of consumer products, available in the Karachi markets, are either counterfeit, sub-standard or adulterated. This figure exceeds 60 percent in the rural areas.
At present, not only we are being cheated, but also poisoned, as most stomach-related diseases are due to contaminated and sub-standard food and beverages.
"Unfortunately, in Pakistan, the consumers themselves are their biggest enemies, as they refuse to exercise their rights as they purchase products without checking their quality and accept substandard products and poor services without protesting or complaining," says the Helpline Trust.
The Consumer Protection Ordinance, Sindh, was signed by the Governor of Sindh on August 4, 2004, but it was not presented to the Sindh Assembly for ratification.
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