PESHAWAR: The price hike and profiteering stricken people in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa are looking towards utility stores to purchase subsidized food items as open market rates are becoming unaffordable for them.
Federal government has announced the provision of subsidized food items including flour, ghee, cooking oil, sugar and pulses to the people through the network of the utility stores. So far over 10 million poor have benefited from the Prime Minister’s Ramazan relief package in the country.
Under the package essential commodities are available in all parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa from Chitral to South Waziristan and Kohistan to DI Khan.
According to a Manager of a Utility Store at Pabbi, district Nowshera the poverty-hit people are taking benefit from the PM’s historic relief package. Under the package a bag of 10 kilograms flour is available at the rate of Rs.400 showing a discount of Rs75.
Likewise, 20–kg bag of flour is being sold at Rs800 during Ramazan against Rs950 before the holy month, showing a discount of Rs150.
Similarly, one kilogram sugar is available on Rs70 presently against the rate of Rs85 prior to Ramazan. He said installation of point of sale (POS) machines in over 100 utility stores has ensured financial transparency and quick disbursement of payment.
He said that over 10 million poor families have benefited from the PM’s relief package so far and the number of customers has increased manifold this Ramazan due to the quality of edible items and maximum discounts on them.
Meanwhile, people of all walks of life including politicians, civil society, the poor, and low paid Government employees have highly appreciated the Prime Minister’s Ramazan Relief package and termed it a historic step.
The availability of few essential food items is the sigh of relief for the inflation hit people, said Mujeeb, a retired public sector employee while purchasing ghee, sugar and pluses in a store.
He urged the government to increase stock of the daily used commodities especially sugar, ghee, cooking oil and flour at utility stores so that a large number of people could benefit from it in the last Ashra of Ramazan.
Like Mujeeb, a large number of other low income people were also found standing in queue before the utility store waiting for their turn to purchase essential food items at discount rate.
Edible items under relief package were being provided to people having computerized identity cards in order to discourage hoarding, profiteering and sale of commodities in black market.
On the other hand, district administration Peshawar has launched crackdown on profiteers and has arrested hundreds of shopkeepers for alleged profiteering during the month of Ramazan. As many as 135 shopkeepers including butchers, milk sellers and grocers have been arrested as preventive measure against the growing price hike to provide relief to the people during the holy month.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2022