PESHAWAR: The district administration has initiated work to fix prices of dishes being served in the local hotels, restaurants and eateries to stop them from fleecing the consumers.

`It is for the first time that the owners of the restaurants, hotels and eateries will receive price list of dishes to be fixed by the district government,` Deputy Commissioner Riaz Mehsud told a press conference at his office.

He said that hotels, restaurants and eateries would be divided into four categories including A-plus, A,B and C. The prices of dishes would be fixed keeping in view the quality and number of the ingredients used in dishes; building and cleanliness of the hotels and restaurants; location; employees` physical conditions and theirsalaries etc.

`Initially we have identified around 20 dishes. The prices these dishes will be fixed by the district administration,` Mr Mehsud said.

`Currently, the owners decide the price of dishes, which is very high in most of the restaurants and hotels, he added. The official said that district administration had also commenced preparing standard operating procedure for all the restaurants and hotels which would be displayed on a visible place inside the same building for public information. The district administration had already fixed prices of bakeries, he added.

The official said that under the displayed SOP the consumers would be encouraged to go to thekitchen of the respective restaurantandhoteltoobserve the standard of food and cleanliness. The consumers had their rights but they were unaware about their rights, he said, adding through such SOP awareness would be created among them. The pricelist of dishes would be displayed with instructions for the consumers to inform district administration on its violation.

After successive anti-encroachment drive and increasing check on the restaurants and hotels, the deputy commissioner said, raids against the people involved in business of spurious medicine and fake petroleum products were also increased.

Mr Mehsud said that several markets and medicine stores were closed down in different areas of the city including Namakmandi, Dabgari Garden, Pandu Road, Firdos Bazaar and Haji Camp.

`Thousands of packets of spuri-ous medicines have been recovered and the owners arrested during the recent few days,` said the official.

He added that several factories of fake petroleum products were also sealed.

The district administration, during the last couple of weeks, had launched a crackdown on leading departmental stores, restaurants, hotels, bakeries and fast food shops.

During the campaign, the administration sealed several of the stores and permitted them to resume business after paying the penalties imposed on them.

During the campaign the administration had even not speared the lone five star hotel in the city and imposed a fine on it after some rotten vegetables and expired items were found in its kitchen.

Similarly, some of the leading stores in the Cantonment and on University Road were sealed after they were found selling some expired items.