RAWALPINDI: The Punjab Food Department on Thursday suspended wheat supply to three private flour mills over the misuse of government wheat supplies under the Ramazan package.
It also reduced the quota for other private flour mills from 50 bags weighing 100 kilograms daily to 30 bags a day.
Under the Ramazan package, the Punjab government supplied 50 bags per flour mill of 100 kg each so that the mills could grind the wheat and sell it in the market and Ramzan bazaars at Rs250 per 10kg bag and Rs500 per 20kg bag.
District Food Controller Mehar Ijaz Ahmed Sial told Dawn that the food department was providing government wheat supplies to 103 flour mills in the twin cities of Rawalpindi and Islamabad. She said three flour mills- Sultan Zaman Flour Mill in Rawat, Al-Rehman in Saggri and Al-Waris in Dhamial- were not following government directives.
He said the quota of the three flour mills was suspended as they were saving most of the government supplies for themselves. He said notices had been served on six more flour mills.
Samples of wheat flour were collected from various bazaars and sent to Lahore for testing, he said, adding that action will be taken against flour mills which were providing sub-standard wheat.
He said the quota for other mills was reduced from 50 bags a day to 30 bags on Thursday due to less demand. Mr Sial said shopkeepers had to sell subsidised wheat at government rates.
The district administration has also imposed a ban on the supply of wheat flour other than as part of the Ramazan package. Wheat at Rs500 per 20kgs is not available in many areas and shopkeepers say that people want fine wheat flour which is for Rs900 per 20kg in the market.
They said flour mills had suddenly increased the rates and that prices may increase further if the government did not take any action.
Many retailers were charging Rs225 per kg for loose wheat flour and others are asking Rs900 to Rs1,000 for a 20kg bag.
Khursheed Khan, a shopkeeper on Chaudhry Bostan Khan Road said people demand quality wheat flour and fine wheat flour which costs more than subsidised wheat flour.
Another shopkeeper in Saddar, Asif Siddiqui said he gets ten 20kg bags for Rs890 and sells it for Rs900 or Rs920.
“If the government has enough stocks of wheat, it should release it in the market after grinding and not give quotas to private mills, which sell it at higher prices,” said Mohammad Abdullah, a resident of Jhanda Chichi.
He said the increase in the prices of food items makes making ends meet for a common man difficult. He said that due to the increase in petroleum prices, the prices of food items are also increasing.
Published in Dawn, June 1st, 2018
