By Zainab Ali
ISLAMABAD: Customers have been facing hardships at the utility stores of the capital city due to the absence of the required facilities and non-availability of food items in abundance.
The customers, dozens in number, could be seen queuing up to enter the G-6 sector Islamabad utility store to get daily food items. They have to wait for hours in long queues before their turn to enter the facility comes.
The customers, mostly women, gathered outside the utility store in the G-6 in the morning to purchase the daily-use items. They are literally left at the mercy of harsh weather conditions, cold now a days with no water even available to them. Usually, the guards at the facility would not let the customers go inside in large numbers due to limited space available inside and they have to wait in long queues outside. There would be no waiting area for the customers as well.
The federal government has opened these utility stores to provide subsidized basic items for the convenience of the public. Discounts are being offered on items available at utility stores. They include sugar, ghee, flour, pulses, edible oil, and ice. However, quite often, the customers would find shortage of these items. ”We are here for three days to buy these things, they wouldn’t give us free, even then, the management says they have run short of items,” a customer said while talking to WorldEcho.
Utility Stores’ point of view
On the other hand, the corporation’s management has decided that the items would not be sold in bulk to discourage shopkeepers so that the people could benefit from the relief package. The visitors said the utility stores administration needed a better plan to provide relief to the citizens.
