Skyrocketing inflation challenges age-old charity traditions

Commodity traders claim sale of various food items used for preparing ration packs has remained highly subdued this Ramazan as compared to the last year due to skyrocketing prices and shrinking purchasing power of the people. There is a tradition that people prepare ration packets and distribute them among the needy especially during Ramazan. However, inflated electricity bills, gas tariff and rising petroleum prices are not allowing a large number of people to take the good step in helping out the poor this year. A commodity trader at Jodia Bazaar, Shakeel Ahmed, said the sale of various items like pulses, rice, sugar, etc, was now 60 per cent lower than last year. Similarly, the sale of other items like ghee and cooking oil, tea, flour, etc, also remained below expectations. “When a person himself is facing a problem in arranging food for his own family due to the meteoric rise in commodity prices, then how could he arrange ration bags for the others,” he asked.