Dealers selling ‘free flour’ netted

Four dealers have been arrested on charges of selling free flour in various localities of the district, Deputy Commissioner Peshawar Shah Fahad said while talking to journalists during his visit to inspect the distribution of food staple at various points.

He disclosed that on the public complaints, the officials of the district administration raided various points of the free flour distribution where the flour dealers were charging money from the beneficiaries and unregistered people under Benazir Income Support Program.

Deputy Commissioner Peshawar Shah Fahad said that four flour dealers were arrested for distributing government flour and demanding money from the general public, adding that the arrested dealers have been put behind bars.

He said upon receipt of complaints against these dealers, the officials of the district administration conducted raids on various distributing points and found the dealers involved in malpractice.

The arrested dealers were selling government flour to unregistered people under Benazir Income Support Program.

These dealers were found violating the rules and regulations by taking money from the beneficiaries, Shah Fahad said.

He added that strict action would be taken against anyone involved in such practice and the distribution of free flour would be made more transparent so that the genuine, poor and deserving people should be benefited.

On the other hand, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Food Safety and Halal Food Authority (KPFSFA) on Friday conducted a crackdown in Dir Upper and Swabi district as the teams inspected various grocery, wholesale, meat shops, bakery production units and hotels.

According to a spokesperson of the food authority, the teams on the directives of the Director General Food Authority Shah Rukh Ali Khan sealed three bakery production units in Dir Upper and two in Swabi on account of poor sanitation, use of non-food grade color, and rotten eggs.

He said the Swabi Food Safety team during the raid recovered and seized 720 kg of mislabelled ghee from a wholesale shop.

Actions against the adulteration mafia are going on in all the districts of the province.

Published in The Express Tribune, April 8^th, 2023.