The City District Government Karachi (CDGK) has devised an operational plan to fix and control prices of the essential items and establish complaint centers in the city during the holy month of Ramazan.
Sources in Enterprise & Investment Promotion (E&IP) Department of the CDGK told Business Recorder on Thursday that "special stalls of wholesale vegetables and fruits" would be established in various towns to provide relief to the consumers in terms of prices and quality.
They said that during Ramzan prices of the fruits and vegetables would be fixed on daily basis by Assistant District Officers (ADOs), E&IP Javed Akhtar Ansari and Mohammad Saleem after conducting necessary surveys and collecting the auction rates.
With CDGK's price lists for fruits and vegetables be printed and issued from the local vegetable market (subzi mandi) wholesalers in the Mandi would be bound to follow CDGK's price lists, sources added. District Officer-II, (DO-II) Price Control Syed Wasiq Hussain would besides supervising the price control process submit a "comprehensive weekly statement" showing fluctuation/variation in the rates of fruits and vegetables to the District Co-ordination Officer (DCO) and Executive District Officer (EDO), E&IP, sources added.
The DO-II would also be responsible for issuing the CDGK's price lists and notifying the consumers, retailers, wholesalers and the Weekly Bachat Bazaars in this regard, they said.
Under the plan the town municipal administrations (TMAs) would be required to set up Complaint Centers with necessary infrastructure and staff to materialise the establishment of around 54 such centers in their respective towns.
Two clerks and one price control Inspector from the Revenue Department would be deputed at every complaint center to ensure smooth functioning there, sources informed.
They said that Deputy District Officer (General) with the assistance of ADO (General) would be responsible to maintain book keeping and monitoring of the procurement for the special stalls and to arrange printing and placement of 1000 banners against profiteering at the prominent locations of the city.
A Control Room would also be established at E&IP department, which would receive and forward complaints of the masses to Judicial Magistrates for prompt action against the profiteers, sources said.
Mubashir Hussain Zaidi, DDO-III, who would be in charge of the Complaint Centers, would ensure compilation of results of price check by the Judicial Magistrates and pass on such data to the main Control Room at DCO's Secretariat located at Camp Office, Karachi.
Sources further said the city government had tasked Khalid Hashmi Additional DO-I and S.M Abbas DO-I, Investment with enforcement of the operational plan before the beginning of Ramzan.
This is worth mentioning here that the city government takes such measures coupled with sky-high claims to control and fix prices of the essential commodities at the start of holy month of Ramzan every year but ultimately appears to be failed to get the desired results.
The locations selected for establishment of the wholesale fruit and vegetable stalls are New Karachi-5, New Karachi near Town Office, Chamber of Commerce and Industry Sector-10, Do-Minute Chowrangi, Bhayani Heights North Nazimabad, Aziz Abad No-2, Korangi 2-1/2, Korangi 5, Orangi No-10, Orangi Kali Pahari, Ruby Cinema Baldia, Qasba Colony, Surjani Town, Shah Faisal Colony No-2, Gulshan-e-Iqbal, Jamshed Town, Liaquat Abad Town etc, sources said.