May 16, 2006	Tuesday	Rabi-us-Sani 17, 1427

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VEHARI, May 15: The wheat growers from various parts of the district have complained they are not being provided required number of gunny bags at various procurement centres set up by the food department. A group of wheat growers told Dawn that thousands of tons of wheat had been lying in the fields as growers were unable to transport the yield to procurement centres because of non-availability of gunny bags.

They said because of the prevailing gunny bag shortage, a majority of growers sold their wheat to the middlemen at the rate of Rs360 to 370 per 40kg.

They alleged that at Ludden, Pirmurad, and PR centres gunny bags were only being provided to influential people or middlemen after receiving bribe from them, and small growers were ignored by the food department officials.

They said the situation was repeatedly brought to the notice of the authorities concerned but to no avail and demanded that the growers’ problem should be solved.

District Food Controller Abdul Hafeez Khan denied the allegations and said that there was no shortage of gunny bags in the district.

He said the food department had purchased about 0.8 million wheat bags from the growers, and 0.3 million more bags would be purchased in the district within the next few days.

Meanwhile, wheat growers in Sahiwal also deplored gunny bag shortage in the district.

The growers from Noorshah, Chak 150/9-L, Yusuf Wala and Qadirabad said that they were unable to shift their yield from the fields to the purchase centres in the absence of required bags.

They alleged the food department staff had provided the bags to wheat traders after receiving Rs10 per bag as commission.

The growers also complained that private traders were making wheat purchases at the rate of Rs350 per mound.

PROBE ORDERED: Sahiwal DCO, on a complaint filed by Numberdar Sharif, ordered a probe against Noorshah purchase centre food inspector Muhammad Aslam for allegedly collecting Rs0.6 million as commission for provision of 60,000 gunny bags to a wheat trader.

DDO (Revenue) will conduct an inquiry against the food inspector on May 16.