Poor storage mechanism: Over 1m wheat bags lying unattended in Naushero Feroz

Anti-corruption dept raids food controller's office, confiscates records

SUKKUR: Over one million bags of wheat harvested between 2014 and 2015 crop are lying either in warehouses or under the open sky throughout Naushero Feroz district.

According to a food department official, who requested anonymity, thousands of wheat bags are missing from various warehouses but no action has been taken against responsible officials. The official claimed some food inspectors have illegally sold new wheat bags to traders and filled wheat in the old ones.



When it comes to corruption and inefficiency of the provincial government, the food department is no different than others as it is always mired in some kind of controversy. Last week, a team of the anti-corruption establishment Larkana raided the office of the district food controller Naushahro Feroze and took away records pertaining to procurement and selling of wheat.

A huge quantity of mud and stone crush is said to be mixed with the wheat - in a bid to increase the net weight - which has been stored in worn out bags instead of the freshly issued ones. The government issues new bags for wheat storage every year.

According to the food department official, warehouses are already at full capacity. It will not be possible to store the new wheat stock expected to arrive in March this year.

He added that several influential flour mill owners had taken wheat stock on credit and, despite selling wheat after grinding it, they have yet to clear the dues.

Naushero Feroz district food controller Abdul Qayoom Kalhoro confirmed the recent raid by anti-corruption officials, saying they have confiscated the record of 2014 and 2015.

Commenting about corruption in the food department, he said corruption is more or less present in all spheres of life.

Kalhoro admitted the presence of mud in wheat, saying most of the wheat bags are new. He also denied that any wheat bags are missing. As far as the accumulation of stocks from 2014 and 2015 is concerned, it is up to the government to decide its rate so they can be disposed of, Kalhoro said.

Benefitting mill owners

It is common practice for the food department to store wheat bags in flour mills after declaring them 'private reserve centres' (PRC). However, it is alleged that only mills belonging to influential persons are declared PRCs.

Though the mill owners are bound to keep the wheat stock intact and are responsible for any damage to it, it has been observed that owners grind the wheat and sell flour in the market.

The payment for the ground wheat is paid to the food department on installments. A few flour mills owned by a Hindu trader, said to be close to an influential politician from Sukkur, often grind the wheat kept in the warehouses as PRC.

Moreover, many flour millers sell the stock to traders in Karachi at exorbitant rates.

Sukkur district food controller Jamaldin Jhullan, who was recently transferred to Shikarpur, confirmed that wheat stock is kept in around 12 flour mills of Sukkur after declaring them PRCs.

According to the agreement signed between mill owners and the food department, mill owners are obliged to keep the stock in-tact and would be held responsible for any losses, he explained. Jhullan denied that millers grind wheat and sell it in the open market, saying they are not allowed to do so. He added, though, that if any miller does that, he has to make payments accordingly.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 12^th, 2016.