HYDERABAD, July 3: A large number of chakki owners of Hyderabad and Kotri under the banner of Hyderabad Atta Chakki Owners Welfare Association and Kotri Atta Chakki Owners Association here on Thursday staged a protest demonstration outside the office of the deputy director food Hyderabad region, Shahbaz building and local press club.

They were protesting against the ban on the inter-district movement of wheat, hoarders and black marketers and the wrong policies of the provincial food department.

Led by Haji Nawab Ali, the president of the Hyderabad Atta Chakki Owners Association, they demanded of the Sindh government to lift ban on the movement of wheat from one district to the other and restore the wheat quota to the chakki owners.

They further demanded that the check posts set-up by the food department on highways should be abolished as officials at these check posts were collecting extortion money.

They pointed out that in the open market, a 100kg wheat bag was being sold at the rate of Rs2,400 and the people were forced to purchase flour at the rate of Rs30 to Rs31 per kg. They warned that if the situation was not rectified, the peace of the city will be destroyed.

They said that if the supply of wheat was not restored within 48 ours, the associations will be forced to announce their future course of action and the responsibility for the consequences will squarely rest on the shoulders of the concerned authorities.Later, talking to Dawn, the president of the Hyderabad Atta Chakki Owners Association, Haji Nawab Ali and general secretary, Haji Mohammad Hafeez said that the situation was very grave and added that if the authorities failed to read the writing on the wall, the consumers will storm the chakkis and use force to take away flour which could create severe law and order situation.

HEALTH SECRETARY: Health secretary Sindh, Shafique Ahmed Khoso has said that vacant posts of doctors in different hospitals of the province will be filled very soon through the appointment of new doctors.