Familiar scenes during Ramadan
By: Farooq Bandey
Every year with the onset of Ramadan, some incidents are seen in Kashmir which no sane person can explain.
- Huge increase in food prices
- A crowd of beggars in city, towns and villages
- ‘Ambassadors with receipt books of some orphanage or residential Darul Aloom, etc.
The huge increase in the prices of commodities, especially food items is baffling for every household. Half of the month of fasting is almost over but the prices of food and other essential items have increased by leaps and bounds.
People want the concerned department to do something and the concerned department says that if a consumer comes to us and complains, we will take action. It seems that the concerned department workers are from another world that they do not know anything about their current living area, or they are given special discounts by the shopkeepers while shopping.
The Jammu-Srinagar highway is sometimes closed, but what we have seen during last and the current year, the government takes immediate action to open the national highway. In this way, the business community here has no excuse to increase the prices due to heavy demand and fewer supplies, creating shortage of goods, due to the closure of the highway.
The loot of vegetable sellers, fruit sellers, butchers, and chicken sellers is on the rise. It looks like the inflationary jinni has come out of the bottle in wake of holy month in the Valley.
However, there has always been a tradition in Kashmir that on the occasions of special and auspicious days, the common people suffer in the hands of our own business community. Be it clothes, food or other essential items, the prices are increased without any justification during those days and the small and big businessmen does not miss any opportunity to fill their coffers.
Ever since the blessed holy days of Ramadan have started along with it the unethical profiteering has started in the entire valley of Kashmir. There is no commodity, especially of food items, price of which has not been increased. The supply chain has not been broken since the last two months.
And even though the Jammu-Srinagar highway has been closed frequently, there has not been a shortage of vegetables, meat, chicken and other items. Everyone tries to suck the blood of the people during these days. The increase in prices couldn’t stay limited to few items. Along with vegetables, the prices of milk and curd and other milk products have also increased, bakers have reduced the weight of bread (rotis), or they are forcing the customer to buy a roti of ten rupees instead of five rupees.
The price of vegetables and fruits is beyond the purchasing power of the poor people. The vegetable and fruit sellers increase the prices every day and are trying to harass the people. In the past, during blessed and holy days, checking team of the concerned government department used to inspect the markets to check prices of the essential items , expired and adulterated items for check and balance and to mitigated the sufferings of the common people.
The Enforcement Wing spread across cities, towns and rural areas in the form of various teams and tried to have control on market, though to some extent only. Now everything is going digital, in digital Kashmir, price Enforcement Wing should also be digital so that they can keep an eye on the market while sitting in their offices. In front of the Kothdars and butchers, the Consumer Affairs department along with the common people, have also surrendered. Meat is not being sold at the fixed price in any area of the valley and the concerned body has failed miserably in fixing the price and enforcing it at the ground level. The heads of the institutions are claiming to provide better facilities to the people by communicating through some social media channel only to advertise their activities, without any solid success. Public circles say those chicken sellers, butchers, grocers and other businessmen including ready-made garments, shoe sellers, fruit sellers have already paved the way to rob people during these auspicious days.
When I came out of the local mosque after offering the Friday prayer, I saw a few small children, a few young women and an elderly lame person begging outside the mosque. One of their distinguishing features was that none of them were natives but all came or were brought here from other states for begging in this holy month.
About the lame beggar, I remembered that even last year he used to beg outside the local mosque in this month. From the gathering of these beggars everywhere in the month of fasting, it can be deduced that their income in this month increases in Kashmir. The most noteworthy issue in the whole episode is the arrival of small children and lame beggars.
Several measures were taken in previous years by the government and these beggars were arrested and sent back, but like every campaign, that campaign also lasted but not for a long time, perhaps the ‘Beggar Mafia’ made it fade away by using some influence. In the last few days, there was news in the newspaper that the labour shortage is the highest in Kashmir and non skilled and skilled labourers are being highest paid here. It can also be deduced from the arrival of beggars in Kashmir that their income is also the highest here compared to the rest of the country and especially in the month of fasting.
Previously police claimed that 8 children went missing during the last year whose whereabouts are still not known. Only last month, a non-native woman was handed over to the police by locals of a village in Budgam district. As per the reports the accused woman was involved in kidnapping a child and was nabbed by some local ladies and the child was recovered from her possession.
Somewhere behind the theft of children, is not the ‘Beggar Mafia’ working? This would be ascertained only when the government crack down on this mafia and bring the real facts and put them in the public domain. In moments of leisure, the government should turn its attention to this serious matter also.
The third unusual activity is the ‘Receipt book’ bearer people who seek donations either using a vehicle or knocking at the doors houses in every locality. As there is no cross check at any level, generous people may be being duped by some unscrupulous persons who are present in every society. We the citizens may also be responsible for such situations where deserving are being deprived whereas cunning run the roast.
