Lack of Price Lists Leaves Buyers Vulnerable to Vendor Pricing
RAWALPINDI.The so-called “Sunday Cheap Bazaar” at Committee Chowk has lost its affordability, leaving shoppers frustrated over soaring prices and the absence of a price control system.
Customers expressed their anger at the lack of a rate list, noting that prices at the bazaar often mirrored those in the open market.
Basic food items like beef, mutton, chicken, and pulses have already become unaffordable for many, and the rising cost of vegetables and fruits is further straining household budgets.
Shoppers reported that vegetable and fruit prices were comparable to those in the open market. Current rates include onions at Rs150 per kilogram, garlic at Rs700 per kilogram, tomatoes at Rs100 per kilogram, and ginger at a staggering Rs1,000 per kilogram. Other prices included potatoes at Rs120, green chilies at Rs200, lemons at Rs120, peas at Rs400, and bitter gourd, okra, and cauliflower priced at Rs200, Rs200, and Rs140 per kilogram, respectively. Cucumbers were also selling at Rs140 per kilogram.
Fruit prices followed suit, with grapes priced between Rs250 and Rs440 per kilogram, apples at Rs200 per kilogram, bananas at Rs100 per dozen, pomegranates at Rs300 per kilogram, Japanese persimmons at Rs200 per kilogram, and sweet oranges ranging from Rs150 to Rs300 per dozen.
Discontented customers, including Muhammad Azam, Shabbir Akhtar, Usman Ahmed, and Muhammad Shakur, voiced their dissatisfaction, claiming the so-called “cheap market” provided no financial relief. “There is no rate list. I don’t understand why we keep coming here thinking it will be cheaper. It’s better to buy from local vendors in our neighborhoods,” one shopper remarked.
Shoppers also challenged government claims of decreasing inflation, asking, “Every day, we hear that inflation is coming down, but where is this happening? Let them publish the name and address of this magical place with lower prices so we can shop there,” highlighting widespread frustration over the situation.
In the open market, chicken meat is currently priced at Rs750 per kg, live chicken at Rs420 per kg, eggs at Rs300 per dozen, mutton at Rs2,300 per kg, beef at Rs1,400 per kg, milk at Rs220 per kg, and curd at Rs240 per kg.
Around 60 price control magistrates are reportedly fulfilling their duties by issuing fines to small shopkeepers and hawkers, but they are failing to take action against wholesale dealers who contribute to rising inflation.