HYDERABAD, April 25: The president of the Sindh Abadgar Board, Mr Abdul Majid Nizamani, has complained that the procurement of wheat has been stopped by the food department officials in several wheat growing areas in collusion with the middlemen and traders in order to purchase the commodity at a throwaway price.

In a communication addressed to the prime minister, Mr Nizamani said that due to financial constraints, the growers had to sell wheat at the rate of Rs370 per 40kg in the open market against the government fixed price of Rs400 per 40kg.

He apprehended that the price of wheat may further decline if corrective measures were not adopted.

He suggested that the provincial food department should be directed to ensure the availability of gunny bags in wheat growing areas and that the bags should only be supplied to genuine wheat growers.

He complained that the procurement of wheat has been stopped by the food department in several wheat growing areas as a result of which the middlemen and traders were offering low price.

He suggested that the provincial food department should be directed to ensure the availability of gunny bags in wheat growing areas and that the bags should only be supplied to genuine wheat growers.

Mr Nizamani said that in view of good wheat crop, the wheat procurement target should be increased to 0.8 million tons without delay as wheat harvesting has gained momentum. He said that there were reports that procurement officers are patronising middlemen by providing them financial backup and gunny bags and were purchasing wheat from them instead of genuine growers.

He said wheat should be directly purchased from the wheat growers as they cannot withhold their produce due to financial constraints.

DEMO: Hundreds of people from Sehrish Nagar, Gulshan-e-Mehran, Oad Colony, Jatoi goth and other areas of Qasimabad including women and children staged protest demonstration and sit-in for several hours in Hussainabad on Monday against the acute shortage of drinking water.