LAHORE: The Punjab government has decided to crack down on the hoarders of wheat and sugar in the province and has assigned the responsibilities of monitoring to the Special Branch in this regard.

Chief Secretary Zahid Akhtar Zaman chaired a meeting at the Civil Secretariat to review the strategy for controlling the prices of flour and sugar on Tuesday.

The administrative secretaries of relevant departments, including industries, food and finance, the director food Punjab and officers concerned attended the meeting.

The chief secretary said sale of flour and sugar at higher rates was not acceptable, adding that those fleecing the consumers by creating artificial shortage of the eatables would be dealt with iron hands. He directed the officers to ensure stability in prices of flour and sugar through effective administrative measures.

Mr Zaman said that along with the prices of commodities, their supply and demand should also be closely monitored. He said the special branch would provide support to the administration for taking action against hoarders.

The food secretary gave a detailed briefing to the meeting, saying that there were ample stocks of wheat and sugar in the province.

Published in Dawn, July 19th, 2023