ISLAMABAD, April 13: A new atta (wheat flour) crisis has hit the federal capital after dealers and mill owners squeezed supply in the local market and started sending it to Rawalpindi to earn ‘more’ profit, Dawn learnt on Sunday.

The residents of Islamabad have started complaining about unavailability of atta in many parts of the capital especially in rural and far-flung areas.

However, the local administration claimed that it had deployed staff at all 36 flour mills in the city to monitor the supply and distribution of the commodity in the local market.

“Six vigilance teams of magistrates are regulating the supply through dealers. Moreover, nine atta sale points have been set up to facilitate the consumers,” a spokesman for the administration said.

It has been learnt that mill owners and flour dealers are not marketing atta in the city and preferring to sell it in Rawalpindi, where a 20kg bag is selling at Rs330 against ex-mill rate of Rs285.

An official of the District Food Department told Dawn that atta crisis had aggravated, as the provincial government had suspended wheat quota to flour mills.

It is feared that due to suspension of wheat supply to mills, the rate of atta would go up further by Rs100 per 20kg, which was selling at Rs310 to Rs330 in the twin cities.

The food department is selling wheat at Rs510 per maund to flour mills and has fixed new support price of wheat at Rs625 after which flour mills would buy the commodity from the open market where price ranges between Rs625 and Rs700.

The official believed that the wheat flour crisis would continue at least till July, when the new crop would arrive.

He suggested that the government should give subsidy to the public on wheat flour price through utility stores and other outlets.

Atta has almost disappeared from retailer shops and being sold at the rate of Rs310 to Rs340 per 20kg bag.

The official said wheat flour was being smuggled through the motorway, where the food department had no access to keep a vigil.

The official estimated that nearly 150 trucks loaded with wheat flour moved from Gujranwala to Peshawar via motorway for its final destination in Afghanistan.

Meanwhile, Chief Commissioner Islamabad Hamid Ali Khan has said no one would be allowed to create artificial shortage of atta in the capital.