Price control to be introduced in Jaffna Peninsula

[TamilNet, Tuesday, 05 June 2007, 10:29 GMT]
K.Ganesh, the Government Agent (GA) of Jaffna, announced Monday that all items, both essential and non essential, should be sold only at control prices determined by the officials of Jaffna Secretariat effective immediately. The decision to institute price control was taken at a conference held at the secretariat Monday morning at 10:00 am to curb the spiraling cost of consumer items in the peninsula, Secretariat officials said.

The conference was attended by officials from of Departments of Agriculture and Veterinary services, Members of the Jaffna Traders Association as well representatives of co-operatives unions.

The GA said from 11 August when the A-9 highway was closed, private businessmen have been bringing the goods required for consumption by the civilians in the North using cargo ships. Unscrupulous businessmen hoard most of the goods and sell them at as much as 70 percent higher than the prices prevailing in the other parts of Sri Lanka, he said.

The decision by GA is a welcome relief and will ease the difficulties faced by the local population, civilian sources said.