KARAK: The local social workers have demanded of the government to control prices of daily use items in the district.

Mohammad Iqbal, Mohammad Farooq, Adil Khan and Ayaz Khan told Dawn that traders and shopkeepers created artificial price hike in the district by increasing rates of different commodities on their own.

They threatened to organise protests if the district administration failed to provide any relief to poor masses.

The social activists said that traders increased prices of fruits and vegetables when supply of gas was suspended to CNG stations in other provinces. They added that prices of fruits and vegetables were increased in the name of transportation charges.

`In the prevailing situation in the district, it is beyond the resources of common man to buy fruits,` the social workers said. They alleged that shopkeepers were not following the official pricelist, issued by the district ad-ministration.

They added that traders were not paying any heed to the directives of the district administration regarding selling of commodities according to the official pricelist. They demanded of the district administration to devise a system of check and balance to control prices in the district.

They said that butchers in the district were also selling beef at Rs300 per kilogram instead of the official price of Rs250 per kilogram. They demanded of the district administration to take strict action against the profiteers and hoarders, who were fleecing people with both hands.

The social workers said that officials of district administration should check prices of daily use items not in Karak Bazaars but they should also visit other parts of the district to control the artificial price hike. They said that it was duty of the authorities to implement official pricelist.

They threatened to hold protests if the district administration failed to provide any relief to the poor masses.