RAWALPINDI:
The effects of inflation are evident at the Cheap Sunday Bazaar in that sellers set three different prices for certain types of fruit and vegetables.
Citizens, already burdened by high electricity bills and taxes, visit the Sunday bazaar to buy basic food items at slightly cheaper prices than the open market. However, most of them returned from the bazaar disappointed during their recent grocery shopping trips as inflation has made buying basic food items a luxury for many.
Onions are sold in the bazaar at Rs 120 to Rs 150 per kg, potatoes at Rs 120 to Rs 150, tomatoes at Rs 120 per kg, ginger at Rs 600, garlic at Rs 480 per kg, okra at Rs 120 per kg, lemons at Rs 120 per kg, green chillies at Rs 30 per kg and capsicum at Rs 160. Bottle gourds are priced at Rs 240 per kg, pumpkins at Rs 200 per kg, bitter gourds at Rs 160 and arvi at Rs 200 per kg.
Mangoes, popular in summer, are sold for Rs 130, Rs 250 and Rs 300 per kg, depending on the variety and quality. Sellers trying to impose cheaper prices have also set three different prices for apples: Rs 150, Rs 250 and Rs 300 per kg. Peaches are priced between Rs 250 and Rs 300 per kg and pears are sold for Rs 100 per kg.
Muhammad Idris, Shafiq Ahmed, Tahir Mehmood and Shabbir Ahmed, who came to the cheap bazaar to shop, said: “The name of this bazaar is cheap market, but not only are vegetables and fruits sold there at high prices, but three different prices have been fixed for each vegetable.”
“The administration could not ensure the sale of fruits and vegetables at the set prices in this cheap market. The official price lists are only brought out when the administration comes, and when it leaves, the prices are reversed again,” the buyers complained.
