By Hamid Khan Wazir
ISLAMABAD: As Pakistan grapples with deadly COVID-19, the skyrocketing inflation further adds insult to the injuries of the countrymen.
The people of the country attached high hopes with the incumbent Imran Khan-led government to ease their woes after defeating the two main political parties i.e., Pakistan Muslim League-N (PML-N) and Pakistan People’s Party (PPP).
However, contrary to it, the problems and hardships of every Pakistani have been compounded many times in the ‘Naya Pakistan’.
The unbridled and skyrocketing price hike of essential commodities made the life of the rank and file a hell.
Talking to the Dispatch News Desk (DND) news agency, the people of the federal capital demanded that the government should take steps on a war-footing basis to rein the nerve-breaking price upsurge of essential commodities.
They were of the view that on one hand, they were rendered jobless on the excuse of deadly Coronavirus, and on the other prices of the daily use items jumped alarmingly that multiplied their woes.
Akram Abbasi, a resident of Bhara Kahu, while narrating his ordeals, said that due to the rising inflation, it is next to impossible for his family to make both ends meet.
He said that though vegetables and fruits vendors displayed government notified rate lists but didn’t comply with them because they didn’t worry about any action.
Another citizen, Ashraf, said that the chicken which was at Rs 350 a few days ago is now being sold at Rs 500.
Ashraf said that the irony is that the rates of two grocery shops are matching as they are fixing prices of vegetables and fruits on their free will.
Prime Minister Imran Khan seemed too much worried about the unbridled inflation and holding meetings repeatedly but all his government’s steps are yet to yield any result.
The Islamabad district admiration has also launched the ‘Durust Dam app’ enabling the Citizens of the Federal Capital to get cognizant about the rates of essential kitchen commodities, vegetables, and fruits, etc, and place orders for them.
Keeping the gravity of the situation, the prime minister tasked the Tiger Force to raid various markets to check the prices of various items.
During the last meeting hold on Tuesday-last, the prime minister expressed frustration over the failure of federal and provincial authorities to bring down the prices of flour and sugar and said that he would be visiting provincial headquarters to direct authorities to put bringing down prices of essential goods as their top priority.
Besides, the government also decided to establish ‘Sahulat Bazaars’ at various places to ensure the availability of essential items at affordable prices.
The Islamabad district administration and Tiger force started raiding various markets in the federal capital to check profiteering and to ease the woes of the public.
The people demanded of the prime minister to activate the price monitoring committees to ensure the sale of the essential commodities at the government notified rates.
