MIRPURKHAS, Dec 11: Flour shortage has hit again different parts of Sindh, with the owners of Chakkis (small-sized flour mills) alleging that the crisis has been caused by inadequate wheat supply by the food department.

Chakki Owners’ Association staged a demonstration outside the press club here on Tuesday to protest the shortage of wheat supply.

They were protesting against the shifting of wheat in huge quantity from Mirpurkhas food department godowns to other districts.

They said there was an acute shortage of wheat supply to chakki and flourmills of the district as compared with other districts of the province.

The protesters, led by Chairman Liaquat Ali Qureshi, Vice-Chairman Abdul Rasheed Talli and Treasurer Mohammad Rafique Arain, were carrying banners and placards and demanding immediate end to shifting of wheat from Mirpurkhas to other areas and increase in its supply to chakkis under the stone policy in the district.

The office-bearers of the association told reporters while claiming that the secretary food and other officers were getting ‘commission’ from contractors for transportation of wheat to other districts, including Thatta, and instead of providing it on reasonable quota to Mirpurkhas, only five per cent quota had been fixed by the secretary which was an injustice.

Referring to the distribution of wheat in Sindh, they said Karachi was getting 45 per cent of supply while Hyderabad 25 per cent, Larkana 15 per cent, Sukkur 10 per cent and Mirpurkhas getting five per cent of supply.

They said that about 125,000 wheat bags had been shifted to other districts from here as a result of which acute shortage had been created.

They demanded of the caretaker Sindh chief minister and Governor Sindh to take notice of the matter and increase the wheat quota for Mirpurkhas to end the flour crisis otherwise all the chakki owners would go to strike.

Our Dadu correspondent adds: Utility Stores in Dadu are facing wheat flour shortage as the government is supplying 80kg wheat bag at the rate of Rs1,215 which in the open market fetches Rs1,500.

The Flour Mill Owners Association Dadu in a meeting demanded of the Sindh government to increase quota of mills and chakkis. Association’s president Amanullah Memon met the District Food Controller (DFC) Ahmed Khan Unnar in his office. The DFC said his office was issuing wheat quota to every chakki and flour mills as per the government policy. He said there was no wheat shortage in district’s Food Department godowns.

The DFC assured the delegation of resolving their problems and paying surprise visits to Atta chakkis and flour mills.

He said licenses of those chakkis found closed will be cancelled. The DFC said due to Eid holidays the wheat will be issued to all flour mills and Chakki owners for 15 days from next Saturday and they owners should pay challans in banks.

Shortage of flour is reported from different parts of Khairpur district where it is being sold at the rate of Rs22 per kg in the cities and Rs24-25 per kg in rural areas.