The much-publicised 'Ramazan Package' to provide essential commodities to consumers on reasonable rates during the holy month of Ramazan seems to have failed to achieve the desired results.
Most of kitchen items, despite the campaign launched by Hyderabad district government against profiteers under which a number of shopkeepers and vendors have been booked and fined, continue to maintain high profile.
A market survey showed that prices of mutton are at Rs 200 per kg, beef Rs 120/kg, chicken meat 100 per kg, eggs Rs 36 to 42 per dozen, wheat flour ex-chakki (small grinding unit) Rs 13.79 to Rs 14 and retail Rs 14.50 to Rs 15 per kg, gram imported Rs 40 per kg, indigenous gram pulses Rs 32 per kg , banana Rs 15 to 20 per dozen, apple low quality Rs 25 per kg, onion Rs 14 per kg, potatoes Rs 14 per kg, green chillies Rs 16 per kg, edible oil 60 per kg, dates Rs 30 to 40 per kg, despite the fact that a bumper date crop has been harvested. No price list was seen at any shop or vendor.
When the President Chakki Owners Welfare Association was contacted he said the high prices of wheat flour were due to ill-conceived policy of the government which is patronising the flour millers who are marketing hardly 37 percent of total wheat supply to them to consumers and discouraging small grinding units which are operating in every locality and catering to the needs of people at their doorsteps by reducing their government wheat quota.
He said: "We assured the government that if the small grinding units were provided in accordance with the policy the wheat flour would be provided to people on government set rates of Rs 12 per kg.
Following growing protest a spokesmen of district government issued a written statement that, up to October 2, 73 shopkeepers and vendors had been booked for profiteering and an amount of Rs 46,760 had been recovered from them as fine. But the question remained to be answer as to what action had been taken against hoarders and patrons to regulate the market system.