TAXILA, April 20: Wheat flour prices have struck all-time highs in the cities of Taxila and Hassanabdal, as authorities are proving helpless against hoarding, profiteering and smuggling.

The artificial shortage created by the nexus between millers and retailers has been aggravated by the smugglers, who are supplying the staple to neighbouring areas in the Hazara division, including Khanpur, Haripur and Punj Khatta.

Whatever quantity of wheat flour that reaches the local markets is being sold at exorbitant rates. Shortage of flour has not only hit the downtown shops but also the Canteen Stores Department (CSD) outlets, that generally serve personnel of the armed forces but are also accessible to the public.

The price of a 20kg bag of flour has spiralled out of control as it presently stands at Rs380.

Long queues of consumers are witnessed each day outside the retail outlets, and despite a wait of several hours many have to return home empty handed. Brawls among the anxiety-stricken people have also become a routine.

Shopkeepers claim that the local flour mills were providing the commodity to them at higher prices than those fixed by the government.

On the other hand, the millers say they were buying wheat from the open market on higher rates as the district government was not providing them with sufficient quota of the grain.

Whatever the case may be, the ultimate sufferers of the never ending crisis are the poor.

Meanwhile, majority of the people do not blame the profiteers for the situation, rather they recent the official increase announced by the Punjab government.

Ms Shagufta, a housewife, said she thought the new regime would provide relief to the citizens by undoing the “cruel measures taken by the previous government”, but the new setup had shattered all her hopes.