131 shops sealed, 36 traders held for unhygienic food

HARIPUR: District administration has sealed at least 131 shops and arrested 36 shopkeepers after registration of cases for overcharging and selling unhygienic food items during the first ten days of Ramazan.

This was disclosed by Deputy Commissioner Nadeem Nasir while talking to The News here on Friday.

He said the provincial government was concerned about ensuring stability in the rates of edibles together with ensuring their availability in the markets during Ramazan.

He said that for putting a check on profiteering, hoarding, and selling of adulterated and unhygienic food items, he and assistant commissioner, additional assistant commissioners, and officials of food and industries departments paid surprise visits to 1,210 outlets during the 10 days and caught 160 shopkeepers overcharging the consumers.

The official said that a fine of Rs3,34,000 was also recovered from shopkeepers.

He said that the magistrates pay daily visits to the markets where they monitor the daily price-fixing of fruits and vegetables keeping in view the comparison of rates of edibles in other districts.

To a question, he said the district administration has set up three Sasta Bazaars, one each in Haripur city, Khanpur, and Ghazi, where customers were getting a subsidy of Rs17 per kg on sugar, Rs5 on pulses, Rs50 on ghee/oil, Rs420 on a 20kg bag of wheat flour, and Rs5 at all kinds of vegetables and fruit.