NAWABSHAH, Jan 10: People continue to pay in the range of Rs22-32 for a kilogramme of wheat floor as the crisis persists across the Sindh province with flour-mills and chakkis blaming short supply from the Food Department for steep rise in the prices of this common staple food and the officials rejecting their claim.
The rain-fed Tharparkar region is perhaps the worst hit district where hoarders and profiteers are selling flour at Rs22-25 per kg in towns and Rs27 to Rs30 per kg in villages.
A survey revealed that the Food Department supplies wheat to mills and chakkis at Rs22 per kg while it directs them to sell flour at controlled rate of Rs14-Rs16 per kg forcing closure of many chakkis.
Some chakki owners said that the department supplied them wheat quota of only 15 bags a week a chakki, which was sold within hours compelling them to buy wheat from open market at Rs20 per kg.
According to reports reaching here from several areas of Thar wheat flour is being sold for Rs22-25 per kg in Islamkot, Chelhar, Kantio, Dano Dhandhal, Diplo, Kaloi and Chhachhro towns, whereas in villages, it is being sold for up to Rs30-35 a kg.
Nawabshah, a wheat growing area, faces no shortage of wheat after bumper crop in 2006-07 still people are forced to buy flour at Rs24 in open market.
District Food Controller (DFC) Qazi Mohammad Rafiq said that the department was supplying 3,744 bags fortnightly to each flour mill.
The flour mills blamed fixation of quota for rise in prices and criticised wheat distribution formula saying Sukkur with a population of 900,000 was being supplied 120,000 bags whereas Nawabshah with 1.2 million people got 40,000 bags per month.
In Badin, chakki owners blamed authorities for failure to supply wheat and complained that they were not even getting the official quota for past many months. Flour is being sold at Rs25-30 per kg in the district. In Naushahro Feroze, flour was being sold at Rs22-25 per kg.
Flour crisis has worsened with prices rising to Rs30-Rs32 in Dadu and Jamshoro districts where angry protesters had set ablaze a number of Utility Stores after the assassination of Benazir Bhutto. Most chakkis and flour-mills complain of running short of wheat.
The secretary of Dadu Flour Mills Association Sikandar said that the department was releasing 44 bags a week to each chakki, which was insufficient even for a day and demanded 150 bags to overcome the crisis.
DFC Dadu Rafique Ahmed Rajpar blamed hoarders for the crisis.
People in Mirpurkhas were forced to buy flour at Rs25 per kg. DFC Hussain Bux Bhutto denied reports of shortage and blamed load-shedding and short allocation of wheat quota for the crisis.
The vice-chairman of Chakki Owners Association demanded increase in wheat quota to 100 wheat bags per chakki monthly and 10,000 wheat bags per flour mill monthly. Flour is being sold at Rs23-Rs25 per kg in Mirwah Gorchani, Digri, Jhuddo and adjoining towns and villages.
In Jacobabad, flour is being sold for Rs25-Rs27 per kg. DFC Daimuddin Panhwar said that wheat was being supplied to mills and chakkis at Rs12 per kg so that they could sell it at Rs16 per kg.
In Khairpur, flour is being sold for Rs25-26 per kg. It is even more expensive in rural areas of the district. DFC Mohammad Safar Kalwar denied reports of shortage and said the department was supplying wheat to three flour mills and 80 chakkis for Rs12 and some paisas per kg.
The president of Anjuman-i-Tajiran and the president of Kiryana Merchant Association said that chakki owners were supplying flour to them at Rs22-Rs24 per kg whereas food department supplied wheat at Rs12 to flour mills and chakkis.
Thatta is not experiencing shortage of wheat flour still people are compelled to buy flour at Rs21-Rs24 per kg thanks to hoarders and profiteers. But the food officials claimed that wheat flour was being sold at Rs16 per kg.
People rejected the claim saying that it was next to impossible for them to travel for miles and wait in queue for hours daily to get flour.
In Sanghar, there are reports the millers and chakki owners had sold out their quota at the rate of Rs1,950-Rs2,000 per bag which they had received on subsidised rate of Rs1,225 per 100kg bag forcing people to pay Rs30-Rs35 per kg for their staple food.
Sources said that many influential people had obtained permits for wheat quota and were misusing it in connivance with the department.
In Khipro, chakki owners observed strike on Tuesday against mukhtiarkar after he imposed fines on them for selling flour at Rs30 per kg.