HYDERABAD, March 13: Sindh Food Secretary Mir Mohammad Parhiyar has warned the chakki owners if they did not grind wheat supplied by the government, they will lose their licences.

Speaking at a news conference at the circuit house here on Friday, he urged the district governments to perform their due role to stabilize the price of wheat flour on the pattern of Karachi.

Representatives of roller flour mills and chakkis were also present on the occasion.

The secretary insisted the government was under no obligation to supply wheat to mills or chakkis at subsidized rates. He said the government was required to control the prices and supply wheat when there was any shortage.

He claimed the government had supplied wheat to flour mills more than their crushing capacity in order to check any shortage of flour.

The secretary said more wheat was supplied to chakkis than roller flour mills during the month of March,.

He disclosed the Sindh government had informed the federal government about its requirements for March 2004 as far back as Oct 2003.

Mr Parhiyar said the Sindh government was informed it would be provided 100,000 bags of wheat from the quantity which was imported from Australia.

He said after the rejection of Australian wheat, the Sindh government ensured the supply of wheat to chakki owners.

He reiterated there was no flour crisis anywhere in Sindh, but artificial crisis had been created with a view to raise the flour prices.

He said middlemen earned more than the chakki owners and growers in the purchase of wheat from the open market.

The secretary was informed in the meeting during two days, food officials had raided 70 chakkis and found 4,739 bags of government wheat supplied on subsidized rates lied uncrushed.

He said it was a crime to hoard wheat and then take out protest processions. Mr Parhiyar maintained the government had always adopted a liberal policy towards the chakki owners but complaints were rampant they sold flour at inflated price.

Replying to a questioner, he said accountability of corrupt officers in the food department had already started. The president of Atta Chakki Owners Association, Nawab Ali disputed the contention of the secretary and said the chakki owners had not been supplied wheat as a result of which they had to purchase wheat from the open market at the rate of Rs470 per maund, resulting in the increase in the prices of wheat flour.

He conceded flour was sold in the city at the rate of Rs15 per kilogramme and it was available everywhere.

He accused the food department of supplying only 25 bags of wheat per unit to 234 chakkis of the district.

The Flour Mills Association, president, Yousuf Kausar Bhatti said the flour crisis was witnessed in the city since January 2004 but due to efforts of the flour mills the shortage had been contained.

He claimed the flour mills had established 70 stalls in the city and supplied flour at the rate of Rs11.50 per kg to the consumers.

He said when the food department started supplying flour mills' quota to the chakki owners, the mills were closed, which created flour crisis in the city.

He said now the flour mills purchased wheat from the open market. Throughout the press conference, the three parties refuted the contentions of one another.