Citizens brave long wait at flour stalls

LAHORE:

A wheat flour crisis has deepened owing to scarcity and an all-time high price of the staple commodity across Punjab.

Speaking to The Express Tribune on Sunday, a number of citizens complained of unavailability of wheat flour in their areas.

A secondary schoolteacher, Muhammad Shafqat, said Punjab was considered the food basket of Pakistan that catered to the requirements of all provinces, but the people of the biggest wheat producing province of the country had to stand in long queues to buy a sack of flour due to negligence of the rulers.

Another citizen, Nuzhat Begum, pointed out that most shop in here neighbourhood had no stock of wheat flour. She complained that the price of flour had doubled since the change of government in the country.

“All political parties and rulers are busy in evading accountability for corruption and political point scoring. Nobody is paying attention to the problems of common citizens, especially the salaried and daily wage strata of the society,” she added.

She pointed out that the price of flour had increased to Rs135 and whole wheat flour to Rs160 per kilogramme in different areas.

The price of a 15kg wheat flour sack has been increased to Rs1,930 to Rs1,950, but it is still not available in the markets. Profiteering and black-marketing of the essential commodities are on the rise as the rulers have different priorities, the citizen claimed.

Similar complaints were aired by several citizens who were standing in long queues at government sale points to buy subsidised wheat flour.

However, owing to limited availability of the subsidised wheat flour stocks, several people had to return empty handed to their homes.

Though the sacks of susidised wheat flour were supposed to be available at designated places in the city, citizens complained of non-cooperation by the suppliers.

Several people also complained of black-marketing of subsidised flour. The official rate of a 10kg subsidised wheat flour bag was fixed at Rs648 but in various areas it was sold for up to Rs750 owing to the negligence of price control authorities.

A housewife, Maria Khan, complained that most Utility Stores in the city were discouraging consumers to buy subsidised wheat flour.

“The other day, I visited two Utility Stores in Model Town and Township to buy a sack of wheat flour and some other grocery items.

Utility Store officials told me to send my CNIC number to the helpline 5566 to get myself registered for the purchase from the stores.

I sent the my CNIC number twice but did not get any response and had to return empty handed. It seems that the officials are intentionally discouraging consumers to purchase subsidised commodities,” she added.

Meanwhile, Punjab Chief Minister Chaudhry Pervaiz Elahi directed the provincial food department to double the monthly wheat release quota of flour mills to improve the flour supply in markets.

He announced that 1.8 million sacks of 10kg of subsidised flour would be supplied in markets across the province.

The chief minister said flour mills would be released 26,000 tonnes of wheat from the government godowns to improve supply and control the price of wheat flour.

He said the Punjab government was providing subsidy to the people under the Ehsas Programme so that its benefit could reach the cities and villages of the province.

He said poor people were being granted targeted subsidy for the provision of wheat under the Punjab Ehsas Programme and the Punjab government was already ensuring provision of flour to the deserving persons at subsidised rates.

Meanwhile, Pakistan Tahreek-e-Insaf (PTI) senior vice president Fawad Chaudhry tweeted that the party had warned the government that the wheat flour crisis would be severe in November and December, but the government had all its focus to countering former prime minister Imran Khan.

Published in The Express Tribune, January 9^th, 2023.