Shift your priorities
The administration in Jammu and Kashmir it seems has forgotten about controlling the market prices. The callous attitude of the authorities in this regard is giving a free hand to the black marketers and hoarders who have left no stone unturned to loot the general public.
Starting with the prices of daily used items in our households, the prices have sky rocketed during the past three months. The price of vegetables is so high that a commoner has to pay through his nose while making purchases in the morning. This has been happening everyday and again, the administration watches the developments but fails to intervene.
Same stands true for fruits which too have gone out of the reach of a common man. The prices are being governed by the whole sellers at the mandies and no rate lists are formulated by the market checking agencies to control the prices. The fact remains that the price controlling agencies have stopped working as the administration is not bothered to see any welfare measures being activated on ground for the hapless common people.
The price rise does not stop here. Every provision that is needed in all the households like tea, dry milk powder, pulses, oils and other eatables have witnessed more than 100 percent hike and the shopkeepers are telling their consumers that the price rise may continue.
We understand that the supply chain has witnessed some disruptions owing to the lockdown and the continued threat posed by the pandemic but that does not mean that the common man’s back is broken by the steep and uncontrolled price hike that is disturbing the budgets of every household.
The efforts of the government in this situation should have been quite reassuring and promising. The agencies that are meant to control the market prices should have been more than active to check any price rise that may hit the commoner, but on the contrary a different situation is emerging and is being witnessed.
The dealers and sellers are being provided a free run and the price control mechanisms have been halted or done away with. This situation is becoming quite depressing for the common man who finds it had to manage his cost of living during these testing times when the economy is witnessing a slump and the earnings of people have witnessed a severe shortfall.
This situation should have forced the administration to shift its priority and set up additional safeguards for the people and provide them some respite. But the failure of the administrative machinery implies that the government is not bothering itself to provide some respite to the common man.
This reflects a total neglect on their part when it comes to the needs of the people. This mindset can get the people still far away from the administration and this does not augur well against the claims that are made for ensuring the welfare of the people.
KV Network
