April 13, 2008	Sunday	Rabi-us-Sani 6, 1429

HARIPUR, April 12: Like other parts of the country, the Haripur district is also likely to be hit by a flour crisis as its godowns have exhausted wheat stocks.

However, officials at the district food department dispelled the impression that the wheat shortage could result in an upward trend in the existing market rates of the wheat flour.

They explained that the district had been depending on the wheat flour of Punjab since long.

They told Dawn that the higher authorities had been contacted in this regard.

The sources said that the district godowns had only 1,112 bags of wheat grain which that had been issued to the local flour mills.

They pointed out that till 1999 the monthly quota of wheat for the district was 75,000 bags but the Federal Food Committee had reduced it to 30,000 plus bags of 100 kg for the population of over 900,000.

The sources expressed the fear that if the wheat shortage was not overcome, over 15 atta sale points set up in the district for selling 20 kg bag of flour at Rs310, would have to be shut.

The sources, however, said that the

Trading Corporation of Pakistan (TCP) had shipped a consignment of 11,000 bags of imported wheat to Haripur by 60 wagons of train which was expected to reach the district in a week.

Meanwhile, a visit by this correspondent to the local market revealed that the 20 kg flour bag was selling at Rs420 while the super fine category of flour was being sold at Rs450 to Rs470, respectively.