Latest news with #Rs150-200
Arab News
29-03-2025
- Sport
- Arab News
On Ramadan nights, Islamabad residents are all cued up and ready to win
ISLAMABAD: Usman Sartaj reaches for the chalk on the edge of the snooker table and rotates it over his tip in a smooth, circular motion. Then he strikes the cue ball hard into the pack of reds, sending them around the table. The popularity of snooker often increases during Ramadan, with many people visiting their local club after breaking their fast. Things are no different in Islamabad where players like 25-year-old car dealer Sartaj spend their nights before the pre-dawn sahoor meal. 'There is a lot of buzz in snooker clubs during Ramadan,' he told Arab News at the Snooker 13 club in the city's G-13 area where he was playing after offering his Tarawih prayers. 'Snooker is a great game. It eliminates a person's tension and stress. Tournaments are held and players come from different places,' he said. Abdul Hadi, the club supervisor, said that the number of visitors rose from about 500 a day to 1,500 or 1,600 during the hours between the iftar and suhoor meals. He said it was an affordable way to spend the time. 'It's around Rs150-200 (50-70 cents) for a frame,' he said. 'So everyone can afford it, even the students.' Muhammad Shahbaz, 27, who works in Dubai but was in Pakistan to spend Ramadan and Eid with his family, said his favorite player was seven-time world champion Ronnie O'Sullivan. 'We admire Ronnie's game and love to watch and follow him,' Shahbaz said. 'We try to follow his tricks and his shots.' Pakistan also has its snooker heroes. Muhammad Asif is a three-time world amateur champion and made the last 32 of the English Open in 2023. 'There is a lot of snooker talent in Pakistan and if we want to promote it, the government has to support it,' Shahbaz said. Shavez Ahmed, a 30-year-old realtor, said there was no doubt snooker was one of the most popular games during Ramadan. 'Other games are impressive — we play cricket and badminton as well — but the craze for snooker in Ramadan never ends.'
Express Tribune
05-03-2025
- Business
- Express Tribune
Soaring sugar price
Listen to article Like clockwork, the sugar mafia has once again tightened its grip on the market ahead of Ramazan, manipulating supply and inflating prices to maximise profits. While the federal government and sugar millers claim to be offering sugar at Rs130 per kg, retailers in Karachi are already charging Rs160 per kg, with wholesale rates climbing steadily. The price of a 50 kg sugar bag has surged by Rs150-200 in just a few days, exposing the unchecked role of speculators and hoarders. Sugar industry is dominated by tycoons and feudal elites who own sugar mills and enjoy deep connections with politicians and bureaucrats. These powerful figures, often with direct ties to the government, manipulate production and distribution while regulators turn a blind eye. This collusion ensures that while consumers suffer, the profits of the sugar cartel remain intact. This is nothing more than corruption and deliberate profiteering. Demand predictably doubles during Ramazan, from 550,000 tonnes to 1.1 million tonnes, and yet the authorities remain slow to act. The federal and provincial governments must launch an aggressive crackdown to dismantle these profiteering networks. Warehouses hoarding sugar must be raided, and those behind this price manipulation must face strict penalties. Mere price caps and hollow assurances will not suffice. Until the government demonstrates the political will to break the sugar cartel's monopoly, ordinary citizens will continue to suffer at the hands of a few powerful profiteers. The sugar mafia has operated with impunity for far too long, exploiting the religious and cultural significance of Ramazan for profit. If the government is serious about consumer protection, it must dismantle this exploitative network once and for all. Otherwise, the cycle will repeat next year, and once again, ordinary citizens will pay the price while profiteers walk free.
