RAWALPINDI: As private millers increased the price of wheat flour from Rs80 per kg to Rs85 per kg and Naanbais started selling Roti at Rs12 instead of Rs10, the district administration on Saturday fixed the price of wheat flour for small private mills (chakis) at Rs58 per kg.

The official price of wheat flour has been fixed at Rs1,100 per 20 kg bag and that of fine wheat flour at Rs1,400 per 15 kg bag. However, there is a shortage of wheat flour on the government rate.

Though a notification in this regard was issued on October 22, the district administration announced it on Saturday.

“After increase in the price of wheat flour in the open market, the district administration decided to counter it,” said a senior official.

According to the notification issued by Deputy Commissioner Mohammad Ali, the price of wheat flour for chakis has been fixed at Rs58 per kg. However, shopkeepers in Kahuta, Taxila and Kalar Syedan have been allowed to charge Re1 per kg extra while shopkeepers in Murree and Kotli Sattian would charge the consumers an extra Rs2 kg per kg.

The government provided wheat to the flour mills and the latter sold it at the subsidised rate of Rs1,100 per bag. However, such wheat flour is not of a good quality and the consumers prefer wheat from chakis (small mills) or fine wheat which is expensive.

About how the government will implement its rate on private small mills (chakis), a spokesman for the district administration said wheat would be provided at lower rates to chakis so they could sell flour on the rate fixed by the government.

“The district administration will provide 100 kg wheat to chaki owners at Rs4,875 and after grinding it the owners will sell it at Rs58 per kg,” he said and added that each chaki owner will get a maximum of five bags of 100 kg in a day.

He said the government registered 140 chakis in the district to provide them wheat on subsidised rate. He said the government had asked the district administration to implement the rates in the market.

On the other hand, Rawalpindi Merchant Association President Saleem Pervaiz said the government had fixed the rates of wheat flour but it was not possible for those who had already purchased wheat for the next two to three months to sell the wheat at the low rates.

He said due to the closure of G.T. Road, the garrison city was running out of sugar and in the coming two days there would be a shortage of other food items as no supply was arriving from other parts of the province.

Published in Dawn, October 31st, 2021