December 06, 2007	Thursday	Ziqa'ad 25, 1428

MANSEHRA, Dec 5: The price of 40-kg-flour bags has gone up to a record level as local millers are selling their wheat quota in the open market despite the flour crisis in the province.

A market survey carried out by this correspondent depicted a bleak picture of the flour crisis in the district as a 40-kg-flour bag was being sold at Rs 880 and despite such a huge increase in its price flour was still short in most of the markets of the city and its adjoining towns, including Baffa, Shinkiary, Oghi and Balakot.

Sources said that in Mansehra many flour mills were lying closed for the past several years but the owners of these mills were still obtaining their wheat quotas from the provincial government and selling it in the open market with big profits as government quota was being provided to the mills on subsidised rates.

The sources said that some of the officials of the district food department were directly or indirectly involved in the scam and were minting millions of rupees on a monthly basis.

In the market 40-kg-flour bags of two varieties, super and fine, were being sold from Rs830 and Rs880 per bag, respectively.

A shopkeeper, Mohammad Naeem, told this correspondent that the flour crisis in the province emerged recently when the provincial government of Punjab imposed ban on the supply of flour from its territory to the NWFP.

He said that apart from this flour was being smuggled to Afghanistan as a result of which the flour crisis worsened in the NWFP.

He said that about 20 flour mills were in Mansehra district but even though only four to five were functioning the rest were also receiving their wheat quota.

He said that there was shortage of flour in the markets and shopkeepers were selling flour at the retail level, which cost Rs10 more on a 40-kg bag.