Govt takes notice of rain damage to wheat stocks lying in open

The Sindh Food Department has taken notice of reported damage to wheat stocks at the government warehouses due to the monsoon rains while directing the concerned authorities to secure the remaining stocks on a war footing.

According to media reports, nearly one million sacksful of wheat was stocked outside the government warehouses in different cities of Sindh in the monsoon season. Knowing that it was perishable commodity, the stocks were not shifted to covered warehouses.

The huge quantity of wheat procured by the government was stocked under the open skies outside the warehouses in Jamshoro, Dadu, Larkana, Kashmore, Shahdad Kot, Khairpur and other districts, according to sources in the food department.

This has cost an unprecedented loss to the national exchequer, they said. As many as 80,000 sacksful of wheat have been stocked outside three warehouses in Jamshoro which have not been secured as yet.

Taking notice of this, the Sindh Food Department, on the instructions of the food minister, has directed the Deputy Directors Food and District Food Controllers across Sindh to save the remaining wheat bags.

They were directed to make every possible effort on a war footing to save the vulnerable wheat stocks from further damage and take on rent private warehouses for this purpose. They were warned that in case of further damage to the wheat stocks, the concerned Deputy Director Food and the District Food Controller will be held responsible.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 19^th, 2022.