KARAK: The traders association here has raised questions over the distribution of flour from the official quota in the district and claimed that the flour was being smuggled to other districts.

The claim was made by a representative of the association, Iqbal Khattak, while talking to this correspondent here on Wednesday. He said that the district was getting a quota of 100,000 wheat bags annually which was supplied to the local flour mills.

He said that currently in the wake of coronavirus outbreak over 60,000 wheat bags were supplied to the district from Punjab besides its annual quota to ensure availability of sufficient flour in the markets. However, the wheat was distributed by the big dealers at their own sweet will and some of the flour was smuggled to other districts, he claimed.

Mr Khattak added that only 30 per cent of the flour of official quota was supplied to the people of Karak while the rest of 70 per cent was smuggled to other districts.

He demanded of the district administration to conduct thorough investigations into the matter.

Meanwhile, social and political circles of Karak expressed concern over formation of the committees for distribution of relief package and claimed that the package would be used as a political bribe and it might not reach the deserving people.

The activists, including Noor Jamal, Mohammad Gulab, Rahim Gul and others, expressed such fears while talking to mediapersons here on Wednesday.

They said that people of good repute had not been selected for distribution of the relief package and only political activists had been obliged in the process. They demanded of the district administration to reconstitute the committees as soon as possible to reach the deserving jobless people and daily wage earners.

Published in Dawn, April 2nd, 2020