LAHORE: The Customs Collectorate of Preventive had conducted auction of 40 metric tons of Indian tomatoes.
According to details on a tip- off, Inspector Gulzar Bhatti and other staff flagged down four trucks near Kala Shah Kaku. Since owner Yasir Bhatti could not produce legal documents, tomatoes were auctioned off to trader Adil Butt against a payment of Rs3.25 million.
Talking to media, Customs officer Gulzar Butt said: “Since product was perishable, it was immediately auctioned off.” He said tomatoes were being imported illegally from India through Wahgah border.
Deputy Collector Custom Moazzam Raza was present during the process of auction. Superintendent Yosuf Khan Inspector Manzoor Elahi, Qasim Bhatti, Muhammad Boota, Chaudhary Tariq, Haji Naeem, Haji Imtiaz and other officials were also present there during process of auction.
Huge numbers of buyers participated the auction of tomatoes. Auction started from Rs 2.4 million and reached at closing of Rs 3.8 million. Buyer got these tomatoes at the rate of Rs 83 per kilogram.
Earlier Lahore High Court moved against high prices of vegetables.
A petition was filed in the Lahore High Court challenging increased prices of fruit and vegetables, especially tomatoes.
Judicial Activism Panel filed the petition through its chairman Azhar Siddique submitting that the Punjab government failed to regulate the prices. The petitions stated that the prices of fruit, vegetables and other edibles had been increased because of negligence on the part of government.
It read: “It is the responsibility of federal and provincial governments, and the price control authority to maintain or control prices of vegetables especially tomatoes to that extent which should be in reach of a common man. Provincial government badly failed to regulate the price mechanism and as well as hoarding, which led to excessive profiteering and was not only an act of exploitation within the term of Article 3 of the Constitution.
The was requested to order the authorities concerned to take action against hoarders, and profiteers.
