RAWALPINDI: A shortage of fine wheat flour has been reported in various parts of the city following the lockdown in Rawalpindi, while shopkeepers appear to have cashed in on the situation.

The district administration dispatched 40 trucks of wheat flour in seven tehsils, including Rawalpindi, Murree, Taxila, Gujar Khan, Kotli Sattian, Kalar Syedan and Kahuta and has started providing wheat flour through 200fair price shops.

However, residents said shopkeepers are selling daily use items at high prices.

“The price of wheat four has increased to Rs90 per bag and [millers] also charged an extra Rs100 for 10kg of wheat flour,” Jamia Masjid Road resident Mohammad Rizwan said.

He said fruit and vegetables have also become more expensive as shopkeepers claimed transportation trucks did not reach due to the lockdown. Medications like paracetamol are not available in pharmacies, he added.

Salman Raja, who lives in Yousaf Colony near Chaklala Scheme III, said that vegetables prices had been low for the past week, but shopkeepers raised them soon after the lockdown.

He said pulses and spices were not available in many markets as well, adding that the government should take notice and improve the demand and supply chain in the open market.

Additional Deputy Commissioner General Zaheer Ahmed Jappa said price magistrates have been asked to visit markets and check prices.

“There is a shortage of fine wheat flour reported in some areas but it is not controlled by the government. But we have provided wheat flour bags in various areas so people can buy it at the official price,” he added.

He admitted there were some problems on the first day of the lockdown, which goods vehicles being stopped at some points, but added that “we managed to allow them to transport goods to the main markets.”

“The situation will improve in the coming two days as the administration is on its toes and working to ensure the provision of food in the market on a daily basis,” he said.

Mr Jappa said traders and transporters were in close contact with the administration, and no one would be allowed to create an artificial price hike in the district. He said there was no need to panic, as shops selling daily-use items such as milk, groceries and edibles will remain open.

He added that people should not come outside unnecessarily in order to prevent the spread of the novel coronavirus.

Published in Dawn, March 25th, 2020