LARKANA: How shopkeepers are minting money came to light here on Sunday when a large number of rain affected poor people came to hardware shops to buy polyethylene sheets to cover their leaking roofs made of mud.
In usual life sheets are sold by the same shopkeepers between Rs35 to 40 per sq meter but today many shops were closed due to heavy rains and those which were opened sold the sheet between Rs150 to 200 per sq. meter which astonished the poverty-stricken people. The rain affected people had to buy costly polyethylene sheet to make their family members safe from leakage of their katcha roofs.
In Naundero villagers used social media and also sought police help when a shopkeeper was selling the sheet at an exorbitant rates beyond your control. Naundero police arrived, took him to the police station and was later on allowed to go home on the assurance that he will sell is on lower market rates but he shifted the sheets to his home and was selling there at the same expensive rates and nobody touched. He was openly selling sheets between Rs200 to 250.
Assistant Commissioner, Ratodero, Ghous Bux Jatoi, also reached on receipt of complaints but the shopkeeper continued his business at his residence on Post Office Road and needy villagers could not do anything as they had to buy it to make their children safe from intermittent rain which is constantly ruining lives since past five days without any respite. Hundreds of mud houses have either been destroyed or their roofs are leaking which has crippled their lives in Larkana district.