KARACHI – Karachi Administrator Fazlur Rehman warned dairy farmers on Friday that strict action would be taken against them under the Maintenance of Public Order if they are found involved in hoarding milk to increase the commodity’s prices.
He was addressing a meeting of EDOs at the DCO Camp Office cancelling his remaining medical leave and reassuming his post.
“All buffalo farms established on government land will be removed and measures have been taken to arrest milk hoarders,” he said. He appealed to citizens to refuse buying milk on excessive prices. “Any attempt to challenge the writ of the government will be dealt with strictly and without any discrimination. Dairy farmers and milk retailers are also Pakistanis and citizens of Karachi but that does not give them the right to do anything unauthorized,” he said.
He said that more than 70 people were fined for selling milk on excessive prices on Friday and this action will continue on daily basis. The administrator said that a meeting of dairy farmers, consumers’ associations and officers of the city government has been called on April 4 to fix the milk prices after reviewing the problems of dairy farmers.
He said that milk prices in other cities of Sindh including Thatta, Hyderabad, Sukkur, Mirpurkhas and Jacobabad as well as in cities of other provinces including Lahore, Rawalpindi, Rahimyar Khan and Peshawar would also be taken into consideration before fixing the milk prices for Karachi. Rehman said that the people are already suffering from high inflation and the trader community must take this into consideration before fixing extravagant prices.
He said that the Sindh government has approved 11 mega projects for the city and they are expected to be started soon.
