SWABI, Dec 4: Prices of wheat flour and other essential commodities have registered a sharp increase over the past few days in the Swabi district.

Consumers and retailers said on Tuesday that just four days ago a 20-kilogramme bag of wheat flour was available in the market for Rs370 to Rs380 but now the same bag was being sold at Rs420, registering an increase of Rs50.

According to market observers and traders, wheat flour prices could become one of the major election issues because the prices were expected to increase further in the next few days.

There were also reports that the NWFP province would face a shortage of flour in coming weeks because the supply from Punjab had declined.

Talking to Dawn, some people complained that they were not only getting flour at higher prices, but the commodity was of an inferior quality. Also, the contents of a bag weighed much less than the stated weight.

The hike in the flour prices has hit the poor hard, leaving them perplexed how to feed their families. “My monthly salary is Rs12,000 and I am facing a lot of problems in feeding my family.

“I feel pity for those people who work on daily wages and earn less than me,” said Hazir Rehman of Bamkhel who had purchased a flour bag of 20kg.

Local dealers attribute the price hike to increase in wheat and maize prices.

The latter is widely consumed by the people of the district, especially those who are very poor.

People said that politicians were mainly responsible for the soaring prices because they owned the flour mills.

The district government, they said, should come forward to check the prices and take remedial measures, they demanded.

When contacted, official sources told Dawn that local flour mills were not able to meet the flour demand as they had to rely on supplies from Punjab, which had already been cut down.

Observers said that prices had already gone up sharply before the election and there were no chances they would come down.