18/01/2008 (The Daily Times, Pakistan), Islamabad - Large difference in prices of cooking oil and ghee at the utility stores and in open market shows the authorities’ inability to control prices and profiteering in town.

People have been thronging the utility stores to get vegetable ghee and oil, being sold at twice the rate in the open market as compared to utility stores.

While talking to Daily Times, Utility Stores Corporation (USC) Area Manager Muhammad Nawaz said ghee and cooking oil were short of supply due to the crisis in Karachi after the assassination of Benazir Bhutto. He said before the incident, the supply was regular on a daily basis but now it was once a week.

He said USC was trying its level best to meet the demand of ghee and cooking oil but due to high prices in the market people were rushing to the utility stores.

Ghee is being sold at Rs 67 per kg at the utility stores and its price ranges from Rs 67 to Rs 150 in the open market. The retailers have been fleecing the customers, as there is no check on the price hike.

Contrary to the district administration’s claims of price control, the situation is worsening with each passing day. People are of the view that every now and a new crisis hits them.

They said earlier the administration had made their lives miserable through flour crisis and now sky rocketing price of ghee and oil were testing their nerves. They said the government was responsible for all these crises as it allowed businessmen to create monopolies and fleece people.

Fariqa Asif, a customer at the Aabpara Utility Store, told Daily Times that retailers were fleecing the customers on the pretext of political crisis in the country. “It has become impossible to survive in the present situation as due to negligence of the government, one after another crisis has been hitting people hard,” she added.

She said ghee and oil had been available at affordable prices a month ago, but within a few days their prices were skyrocketing.

Another customer also held the government responsible for all these crises due to its mismanagement.

A member of the Islamabad Price Control Committee, on the condition of anonymity, told Daily Times that no meeting of the committee headed by Islamabad chief commissioner had been held except once during the month of Ramazan. He said unfortunately no meeting was held to review the prices even during the flour crisis. “The committee, comprising the chief commissioner, deputy commissioner, assistant commissioners, customers’ representatives, two former members of the national assembly, traders and others, is of no use,” he added.

Shafique Abbasi, traders’ leader, said increase in fuel charges was affecting the prices of daily use commodities. He said the government should focus on controlling fuel prices if it wants to control the prices of daily use items.