January 17, 2008	Thursday	Muharram 07, 1429

RAWALPINDI, Jan 16: Caretaker Minister for Food Punjab Dilawar Abbas here on Wednesday said flour mills would get additional supply of wheat at subsidised rates so that there is no shortage of atta in the province.

Speaking at a news conference at the DCO office, the minister said atta would be distributed among the residents on a daily basis through trucks, saying the respective district administrations would be given the task to fix the distribution points.

He said mills had been provided sufficient amount of wheat in order to produce atta according to the requirements of the people. He warned that traders would be dealt with harshly if found guilty of hoarding the commodity.

Flanked by DCO Irfan Elahi and city nazim Raja Javed Ikhlas, the minister directed the agencies concerned to ensure smooth supply of flour in the city and said atta should be made available to the public at the officially fixed price.

In reply to a question, he said the biggest factor behind the flour crisis was smuggling of the commodity to Central Asian Republics including Russia. He dispelled the impression that the Pakistan Muslim League (PML-Q) was responsible for the shortage.

To another question, he said the shortage of atta would be overcome within two days after the provinces were given additional supply of wheat by the Federal Food Committee.