Milk dealers and retailers of the metropolis have illegally earned around Rs 1.293 billion from the citizens as the City District Government Karachi (CDGK) has so far failed to break this new cartel.
Despite tall claims of the CDGK for taking action against the milk sellers with iron hands forthwith, the officials have not yet succeeded in initiating "stern action" against them despite an elapse of five months or 154 days.
The milk dealers and sellers on March 8 raised their commodity prices by Rs 2 per kg without receiving formal permission or intimation from the authorities concerned.
It is pertinent to note that average daily consumption of fresh milk in Karachi is around 4.2 million litres and this figure can be multiplied by the number of days since March 8 to get the actual illegal profits earned by the milk cartel.
"The city government would soon crack down on them (milk sellers) and its concerned officials have been assigned areas to monitor and regulate prices of essential commodities, said a CDGK official when contacted.
On the contrary, this unofficial fresh milk price-hike would again directly hit the masses who are helpless and bound to pay the increased price for almost every essential commodity, be it sugar, flour, pulses, milk, petrol or diesel.
Consumers have expressed deep dissatisfaction over the pathetic attitude of the concerned officials who are directly concerned to control the prices of essential commodities on a daily basis.
Earlier, the officials were of the view that due to the lapse of the Sindh Essential Commodities Price Control and Prevention of Profiteering and Hoarding Ordinance - 2006, the CDGK was not authorised to crack down on profiteers in the city.
"The ordinance lapsed on June 9, 2006, however, Sind Governor Dr Ishratul Ibad Khan has again promulgated the ordinance, which will enable the CDGK's officials to regulate the prices of milk and other essential commodities in the city," the official remarked.
He said that the ordinance would remain enforced for another 90 days. In order to avoid its lapsing, he said it needs to be approved in the Sindh Assembly for becoming a law within the period of 90 days.
In case, the Ordinance fails to be passed within the stipulated period of time, the re-promulgation of the Ordinance will be required in order to monitor and regulate the commodities' prices.
Earlier, the Dairy Farmers Association (DFA) had defended the price escalation, saying that the prices of different fodder had been increased substantially during the last three months and this situation had compelled them to raise fresh milk prices by Rs 2 per kg.
He dispelled the impression that Rs 30 per kg price of milk was unjustified, adding that the milkmen are not enemies of general public.
The average daily consumption of fresh milk in Karachi is 4.2 million litres. The requirement is calculated at 5 million litres milk which is obtained from around 600,000 buffaloes.
The most ugly part of this whole scenario is that the city government has not yet allowed the milkmen to sell milk at Rs 30 per kg. However, had the CDGK issued a notification of Rs 28 per kg, the people of Karachi would have paid an additional unjustified amount of Rs 1.293 million, which would not be 'refundable'.