DADU: Many women standing in queues to buy subsidised wheat flour at a designated spot in Nawabshah were injured, some of them seriously, in chaos on Monday as people jostled each other to reach the supply trucks first.

The injured women had to be taken to a nearby hospital for treatment.

In an incident of stampede a couple of days back in Mirpurkhas, a labourer had lost his life and many

men and women were injured in their attempt to buy a flour bag.

Due to a wide gap in the demand and supply of flour at subsidised rate of Rs65 a kilo, long queues of men and women are seen at all the designated spots in every big and small town of the interior of Sindh while traders and shopkeepers also have a limited stock to offer to their customers at Rs140-160 a kilo.

The people in queues were seen complaining that they had to spend many hours at these spot for the arrival of the flour-laden trucks and then for their turn to buy a five-kg or 10-kg bag of flour. Many of them also complained of poor quality flour.

Protests held in many towns over aggravating shortage, increasing price

They argued that they had to compromise as the better quality flour was selling at private outlets for three or even more time higher rate.

Many areas get no supply of subsidised flour

Residents of Dadu, Mehar, Khairpur Nathan Shah and Johi towns in Dadu district claimed that not a single stall had been set up by food department to offer flour at subsidised rate and, therefore, people had to buy the commodity at the exorbitant rate of Rs140-160 per kilogram.

Protest demonstrations were held on Monday at various places, including in front of Dadu Press Club, and many other towns of Dadu, Shaheed Benazirabad, Sanghar, Naushahro Feroze and Jamshoro districts against an acute shortage of flour and the unaffordable price.

They condemned the food department and respective district administrations for failing to manage the supplies and maintain quality and price.

Officials-traders collusion alleged

In Dadu city, protesters marched on various roads before holding a noisy demonstration outside the local press club. They raised slogans against the officials concerned and demanded immediate action against them.

Speaking to them, one of the protesters, Shah Mohammad, alleged that food officials were hands in glove with traders in creating an artificial shortage by selling away subsidised wheat and flour to millers, traders and shopkeepers in open market. Another one, Jan Mohammad, condemned the authorities concerned for not having set up any stall for sale of subsidised flour in most towns of Dadu district.

The protesters lamented that no supplies to even Khairpur Nathan Shah, one of the worst-hit town during the recent heavy rains and floods, had been ensured.

Meanwhile, Sikandar Lakhiar, president of the Atta Chakki Owners Association, Dadu, has said that chakkis were not being provided any wheat stock these days despite repeated requests.

Protests in many towns

At a similar demonstration in KN Shah, Ali Gul Khoso and Wali Mohammad Naich claimed that local food officials had already sold away the entire stock of 25,000 wheat bags as soon as the town was hit by the natural calamity.

They noted that floodwaters were standing in farmlands for months together disabling farmers to cultivate their lands. The area people were neither getting subsidised flour nor were they being provided anything under the relief assistance announced by Pakistan Peoples Party (PPP) chairman Bilawal Bhutto-Zardari and Chief Minister Syed Murad Ali Shah, they lamented.

They said the unprecedented hike in the prices of flour and almost all other edibles had caused collapse of ordinary people’s domestic economy.

Participants of several protest rallies, held in Mahar, Faridabad, Khan Jo Goth and villages along Suprio and FP bunds proceeded to Mahar town to hold demonstrations. They called for emergency steps to overcome flour shortage and price-hike for the sake of their survival.

Published in Dawn, January 10th, 2023