Supply of edibles to the entire country has come to a standstill due to continued countrywide violence and closures of petrol pumps, leaving all the incoming and outgoing cargo transportation suspended, said traders on Saturday.
Despite the deployment of law-enforcement agencies, miscreants attacked various markets, looting grain stocks worth about Rs 100 million in the metropolis, they added.
They said that continued closures of all markets of edibles had created shortage of food items, which were selling at exorbitant rates. They feared that this situation could further intensify in days to come, and ruled out any prospect of resumption of trading activities forthwith.
If the law and order was not restored immediately, the incidents of looting and plundering of stocks of essential commodities by the miscreants could rise, they added.
Reports of looting of grain stocks in Karachi's Jodia Bazaar, Chakiwara Market and Usmanabad Market have also been received. The angry mob resorted to firing in the air in some parts of the city, forcing the shopkeers to close down their business.
The general public ran from pillar to post failed to get the items of daily use at genuine prices, but the shopkeepers on the plea of short supply of food items, fleecing the customers at will.
People complained that the essential items, including wheat flour, sugar, milk, vegetables etc, were selling these items at increased rates. Wheat flour was being sold in the range Rs 30 to 35 per kilogram, sugar at Rs 30 to 32 per kilogram and potatoes at Rs 80 per kilogram. Similarly, milk, medicines, poultry meat, mutton, beef, "Roti," ghee, fruits and vegetables etc, have become scant in the local markets.
Though riots in the city had come to a halt with the deployment of Rangers and other law-enforcement personnel, all the trading centres remained closed for the third successive day on Saturday.
Talking to Business Recorder, Chairman of Karachi Wholesalers Grocers Association Anis Majid ruled resumption of trading activities in Jodia Bazaar immediately.
He said that stocks of rice and pulses of around Rs 100 million had been looted during the last two days, which had made the availability of grain difficult.
He said that miscreants stormed the Jodia Bazaar, Chakiwara and Usmanabad Markets and looted the stocks of grains from several godowns. He linked the resumption of trading activities with the restoration of law and order situation and cargo transportation in the metropolis.
Site and Korangi industrial areas and several city's markets remained under serious attacks by the angry mob and criminals, causing huge financial losses to the industrialists, as some units have also been set ablaze.
Chairman of Karachi Retailers Grocers Group Fareed Quereshi said that a group of armed protestors had invaded Tariq Road Market on Friday evening and forced the shopkeepers to close their shops. They also resorted to firing in the air.
Rretailers, already panicked by the incidents plundering of markets and deteriorating law and order situation, kept their shops closed. He, however, hoped that trading activities would resume on Monday.
Criticising the retailers, who were fleecing the customers, he said that such bad practices should be stopped, and urged them to provide essential commodities at official prices.
A vegetable and fruit dealer, Waqar Ahmed Shaikh said that the only Sabzi Mandi (vegetable market) of the city had been closed for the third day.
He acknowledged that suspension of vegetable supply to the entire city could become serious if the supply of commodities was not resumed.
He said that several loaded trucks and trailers of the vegetable and fruits had been stranded at Super Highway and National Highway for the last three days, adding that with their arrival in Karachi, the situation could improve. About 100 million vegetable and fruit were traded daily in this market, he added.