A meeting of the Cabinet Committee assigned with the task of overseeing and monitoring of supply and price situation in Ramzan Bazaars and the open market was held at Civil Secretariat, Lahore today.
Industries Provincial Minister Ch Muhammad Shafiq, Punjab Additional Chief Secretary Shamail Ahmad Khawaja, CMIT Chairman Irfan Ali, Food Secretary Dr Pervaiz Ahmad Khan and Industries Secretary Khalid Sher Dil participated in the meeting besides other senior officers of the relevant provincial departments.
It was noted with concern in the meeting that the price of tomato was highly variable in various districts of Punjab, particularly the tomato price in Khanewal and Vehari was abnormally high, as compared to the adjoining districts. The meeting decided to enhance the supply of tomato for Khanewal and Vehari where the price of tomato exceeded to Rs 50 per kg as compared to that of in Attock where it is Rs 22 per kg.
Punjab Additional Chief Secretary directed the district administration of Khanewal to improve a control of price hike. He expressed his satisfaction over the fact that the price of other commodities in all 318 Ramzan bazaars in the province, as well as on the open market, remained stable due to Rs 5 billion subsidy package provided by the government of Punjab for Ramzan. This package has provided a lot of relief to the people, especially to the fasting common lot. He also appreciated the efforts of the government machinery in administering the Ramzan bazaars and effectively controlling the market forces also. The government will ensure that edibles including flour, sugar, fruits, vegetables and other commodities would be abundantly available in the Ramzan bazaars as well as in the open market at a subsidised price, he added.
Shamail Ahmad Khawaja strongly condemned the elements committing hanky-panky in weighing. He also warned the district administration of all the districts of Punjab to take preemptive measures for expected pre-monsoon rains and arrange dewatering of Ramzan bazaars, so that the fasting people and other consumers don’t encounter any difficulty due to stagnant water in the shopping areas.
