April 12, 2008	Saturday	Rabi-us-Sani 5, 1429

SANGHAR, April 11: Dissatisfied over the price of Rs 625 per 40 kg fixed by the provincial government for wheat procurement, the growers have started to sell the commodity to Karachi-based buyers and brokers at a better price making it an uphill task for the food department to meet procurement target.

A survey conducted by Dawn revealed that a large number of private brokers and buyers have thronged Sanghar and Dadu districts from Karachi where they have started to purchase huge quantity of wheat from open market at a rate ranging from Rs630.00 to Rs 650.00 per 40 kg against the government-fixed price of Rs625.00.

According to sources, traders were selling the grain in Karachi somewhere between Rs690-695 per 40kg. The Sindh government have fixed wheat procurement target for district Sanghar at 700,000 bags of 100kg each. The department has hardly purchased 217,000 bags till April 10. While 80 percent of farmers have already sold their crop.

The government has also set-up 34 procurement centers in the district. The food officials were running from pillar to post to achieve the target but, so far, they were far from the target. Most of the wheat was being smuggled to Karachi during night allegedly in connivance with the police.

Imposition of section 144 CrPC banning shipment of wheat outside the district, was not being implemented in letter and spirit. On Friday, the administration announced to deploy Rangers to stop smuggling of the commodity to help the food department to achieve the target.

In Dadu also, private buyers and brokers have set up camps and buying the commodity allegedly in connivance with the food department officials, reports our correspondent.

As a result, wheat flour prices have registered an increase in Dadu and Jamshoro district where it was available for Rs25 to Rs26 per kilogram. According to flour mill owners, the food department has stopped supply of wheat to them.

Instead of cooperating with the us, the officials were involved in shifting wheat to other parts of the country, a mil owner complained.

The government has fixed Rs1,562.50 per 100 kg bag of wheat but traders were directly purchasing the commodity from growers at the price of Rs1,610 to Rs1,650 per 100 kg bag.

A grower of Johi, Azam Lund, told Dawn that the district food controller and other food staff were providing bardana only to influential people. A grower of Mehar, Nabi Bux Babar, accused the food officials of supporting the traders of Balochistan and Karachi and charging Rs20,000 on each truck.

The district food controller of Dadu, Rafique Ahmed Shahani, said that procurement target of 870,000 (100 kg) bags of wheat was fixed for Dadu out of which only 16,000 bags could be procured.

He said the 32 wheat procurement centers have been set up in the district where food inspectors were purchasing wheat since March 15. He said that 500,000 gunny bags, purchased from Punjab, were available at the centers.