TAXILA: The Punjab food department has penalised 29 flour mills in the division for malpractice and to ensure an uninterrupted supply of flour at the official prices.

Rawalpindi division Deputy Director Food Zaryab Sajid Kamboh told the media that the food department had introduced checks and balances on flour mills operating in the division for the fair and transparent distribution of flour to the public.

He said action was taken against 29 mills in the division over the non-observance of the extraction ratio, less weight, lack of hygiene, improper bookkeeping and the presence of moisture in flour.

Action was taken against 18 flour mills in Rawalpindi, 14 in Attock, five each in Jhelum and Islamabad and two in Chakwal.

He said action would be taken against those stockpiling wheat, as hoarding was the cause of profiteering.

He said there is no shortage of wheat four in the district and a sufficient stock is available with shopkeepers.

The process of the supply of flour at a controlled rate is ongoing in all districts in the division on a daily basis, he added.

Mr Kamboh said 4,000 bags of flour are being supplied to every Sahulat Bazaar in Rawalpindi as well as 190 fair price shops, 40 different trucking points and more than 250 dealers.

Flour millers in Rawalpindi are acquiring wheat from Sindh and south Punjab, and there is no ban on procurement or transportation, he said, adding that hoarding would not be permitted.

He said there are 78 flour mills in Rawalpindi district and 47 operating in Islamabad.

The food department and other bodies, including the Punjab forest department, have begun an audit of all the flour mills operating in the region to monitor the demand and supply of wheat and flour and their distribution in the market.

Teams will also check and verify records of stock and the grinding of wheat officially supplied to respective flour mills, he added.

To a question, Mr Kamboh said imported wheat has reached the reserve go-downs of the Rawalpindi food department and is being supplied to flour mills in the division and Islamabad.

Published in Dawn, November 1st, 2020