KARACHI, Sept 13: Amid reports of an acute shortage of wheat and flour in the city markets for a few days, the Sindh Food Department has been asked not to come under any pressure or be blackmailed by the elements out to disrupt a smooth and prompt supply of wheat to flour mills across the province.

Adviser to the Chief Minister on Food and Agriculture Mir Murtaza Khan Jatoi directed his department’s officials to make immediate delivery of wheat consignments to flour mills and ensure sale of wheat flour at normal prices.

Mr Jatoi was presiding over a high level meeting in his office here on Thursday. Food Secretary Sikandar Ali Keerio and Director of the department Inam Dharejo were among those who attended the meeting.

The adviser also directed the officials to perform their duty honestly and issue challans to flour mills on the spot. He said clean wheat should be delivered to all mills, adding that any complaint about quality be removed immediately. He warned that no negligence in this regard would be tolerated.

He said flourmill owners should also cooperate with the government in the provision of the commodity to people at reasonable rates during Ramazan. “The menace of hoarding must be eliminated,” he added.

The adviser said that the government wanted to announce a special Ramazan package in collaboration with the Flour Mills Association and a response from the association on the idea was awaited.

Mr Jatoi asked the officials at the meeting to ensure a more active liaison with the district governments to ensure quick delivery of wheat to flour mills and take action against overcharging and artificial price hike.

He also took notice of reports that substandard wheat was being supplied to flour mills, and directed the food secretary to conduct an inquiry into the claim so that action could be taken against the guilty.

Meanwhile, a spokesman for the Food Department on Thursday contradicted a press report that a wheat consignment was not released to flour mills in Karachi for certain reasons.

In a statement, the spokesman said the department had allocated 12,200 metric tons of wheat this week but the flour mills had lifted only 5,389 metric tons between Sept 7 and 12.

The spokesman also denied any reduction in the wheat quota of Mirpurkhas region.—PPI