HARIPUR: The Hazara Naanbai Association have rejected the newly-notified price of Rs20 for a 120 grams roti and announced that its members would observe a shutter down strike across the division against the notification from Friday (today).

It said the new roti rate was unjustified in light of the escalating gas and power tariffs.

The nanbais had begun selling roti for Rs25 each on their own during the recent flour crisis.

The administration reduced the price of 120 grams roti to Rs20 claiming that flour price has come down due to the restoration of wheat supply to the province from others.

Naanbai Association Hazara president Bashir Butt told reporters here the other day that the flour price hadn’t come down as reported in the media, so nanbais continued to get a 80kg sack of the bread stuff for Rs12,000.

He also said gas and electricity tariffs had hit record high, so selling roti for Rs20 wasn’t feasible for nanbais.

Mr Butt said authorities didn’t take the association on board before decreasing the roti rate, so its notification was unacceptable.

“We’re ready to sit down with the administration to sort out the issue, but any attempt to force us into selling roti for Rs20 will backfire,” he said.

He said nanbais would down their shutters across Hazara division from Friday.

Published in Dawn, June 9th, 2023