Ramadan = Price Hike + Hoarding
By Ghazala Khan • Sep 6th, 2008 • Category: Politics • 11 CommentsThe holy month of Ramazan has been welcomed with traditional zeal and zest and the prices of all the things have been raised from 50% to 80%. The prices of fruits and vegetable remained all time high and shortage of flour prevailed and the prices of oil, pulses, milk, and other edibles have gone through the roof.
Extra charging almost on each food and other essential items tells you that the moon of Ramadan has been sighted. Each trader in the market raced ahead of the other in ignoring the price list issued by the district governments and fleecing the skin of consumers without fear of any check on him. They say it “Haza Min Fazl-e-Rabbi.”
Government has formed some price checking committees to protect the common men from the profiteering of the shop keepers, but that is proving useless. First because, rarely any government is seen at the marketplace, and if somebody comes he is thoroughly ignored by the shopkeepers, because they know that they have already taken care of that officials and his bosses.
Who will take care of mere mortal like us?
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Ghazala, everything will be alright, only, if we learn and accept the fact that Ramazan is for curbing our urges and not encourage our consumption with even more vengeance. I somehow get this impression that our appetite, during Ramazan, increases many folds and we just become too voracious. The element of sacredness and holiness of Ramazan, the sense of sacrifice and humility, is polluted with perverted consumption and vulgarity of show off. The fault lies, in my opinion, with us alone, we the greedy and shallow folks or is it whole nation?
Aftab Bhai, that problem is everywhere. Not alone for Pakistan. Food waste during Ramadan is universal. People end up having bigger bellies after all the good food they enjoy. Have you ever seen how the buffets are attacked during Ramadan? My gosh, I wonder if they have ever seen food before…
Salam Alaikum Janaab, yes you are right, it is a universal phenomenon with us, I limited it to ourselves in Pakistan since we have to face the immediate result of this unnatural increase in our eating habits. You are right, why is it so with our behaviour, why this greed as if we have never seen food before - why this abnormal behaviour. I honestly, think, that as far as availability of food is concerned, the people in our region, historically, never had it in such abundance like now.
Oh, yeah, the ‘bigger bellies’ - Allah is so omiscient and knew what we would do to ourselves, that is why made our tummies with such rugged and elastic muscles that keeps on stretching with our habits, otherwise you doctors would have had every year this season of emergencies with ruptured bellies to stitch up.
Walikum Assalamu Aftab Bhai.
Well, no wonder liposuction surgeries procedures go up after Ramadan…:)
No matter of what solution is offered, I have taken a direction one personally. I limit the number of Iftar dinners I go to. Now I have made it a practice to send food to the local masjids and homeless shelters. My children actually take the food themselves and serve the food to the needy. This is the little change I have done in my life and my children appreciate it greatly too. They are most excited now of where next to send the food than worried about what to eat each evening.
The lesson I share is not to boast of myself but to remind each other, that to make a change, it must start from oneself and family first.
But again, please eating more, so we the surgeons, and other medical specialists can be busy taking care of you folks later. Sooner or later, all the eating will catch up with you.
This is just great and I hope that many of us would emulate your good example. Jazaak Allah.
Dr Alshaer and Aftab Bahi:
You both are doing great work. I must appreciate your sincere efforts. No doubt, the human greed tilts the food prices sky high, in addition to hoardings and price hike. It is very common that shopkeepers stocks the food and supplies in less quantity so demand could increase and once demands increases then you can not meet it… even you supply in full quantity. It takes time to come back to normal prices.
Same happens on Eid Ul Adha, Tomato prices goes up because that time no body bothers about fruit or fast food items but people requires tomatoes in large quantity.
Sir, we can stop this trend by relying only on normal food, as we takes in normal dinner. Even in Arab countries, they takes normal food plus Dates etc. Don’t know where we are going and what we want to achieve by eating so much.
Dear fellows, you are impressive by raising voice for right practices but majority don’t want to follow. They can abuse Government and agencies but won’t think to participate in same by decreasing their desires in Ramadan.
Allah bless us and guide us on right track.
I personally know those families, who haven’t even poison to eat, this Ramadan.
Ms. Sabeen, If you personally knows then please proceed with one time food for them on daily basis. Why we can advertise only. Why not practically do it. If Dr Alshaer, Aftab and I can provide some food for these poor people…. why not others?
I don’t want to mention here but I am satisfied with my efforts from poor. In my native village there are couple of families, for whom we even gave our half of rooms to keep their young daughters there and providing as much as we can. I can loudly say that in my village, no poor is dying with hunger at least. We some how manages good for them. Not only me or my parents but all villagers who can afford.
If we can then why not others????
Sabeen Mumtaz
you are more than right, but there are also those families who have filled their freezers. Ms Ghazala Khan is very right and choose a good title for her post. I want to add this something here about the magistrate charged with inspection during Ramadan go to markets and fine the shopkeepers @ Rs 500 or Rs 1000, what shopkeeper does, he raises the prices after being fined to collect fine money before evening. So no result of price control committee. To control artificial price hike in Ramadan, find a shopkeeper read handed, lodge and FIR and send him to jail and release him after 30 days, during this period his shop should be sealed by authorities, I see how it is not curbed.
correction
“find a shopkeeper red handed”
yes it is every where