Cheap flour still a distant dream

KARACHI: The majority of the city’s flour mills have not set up stalls to sell the commodity at a subsidised rate of Rs20 per kilogramme, despite receiving their quota of wheat under the Sindh government’s Rs2 billion ‘Ramazan Package’.

The mill owners argue that since the government was late in providing them the promised wheat under the package, they were unable to put up the stalls in time. However, food department officials refute these claims. They say that wheat was given to flour mills a week before Ramazan and the actual reason for the latter’s delay was to profit off their old stocks.

The unavailability of subsidised flour has disappointed a large number of people, particularly those from the inflation-burdened middle and lower classes, who were delighted at the prospect of some relief by the government amid the high prices of food items.

But now they have to pay Rs10 less than the actual price of flour, as many of them still visit mills, but have to turn back empty handed each time.

Zahida Parveen, 40, who lives at Korangi Crossing, says she has visited the flour mills in her area around four or five times since Ramazan started, but the employees there keep telling her to come back again.

“I have gone to flour mills in Mill Area, Korangi and Ibrahim Hyderi Road, but I am told every time that the stall will be set up soon. I don’t know when that day will come,” she complained.

“Someone told us on Monday that Ellahi Mill, which is near Murtuza Chowrangi in Korangi, has set up a stall. I went there along with two other women, but found nothing. We were told at the gate that the stall would be established in a couple of days.”

A duty officer at the Ellahi Mill told The Express Tribune that they have not been provided subsidised wheat by the government so far.

“We will hopefully be handed over our quota of wheat today (Tuesday) and then we will set up a stall,” he said.

Mohammed Yousuf, chairman of the All Flour Mills Association Karachi Chapter, told The Express Tribune that many flour mills have just received wheat from the government on Monday. He said the government has provided 16,000 bags of the commodity to each mill in Karachi and overall, around 2.2 million bags have been provided to the city’s mills.

He said flour mills are supposed to sell a 10kg bag at Rs200 and since many people fasting during Ramazan cannot visit the stalls in the heat and wait in long queues, mill owners will encourage shopkeepers to buy 10kg bags at  Rs190 each and sell them for Rs200. “The shopkeepers cannot cheat as the price will be mentioned on the label.”

Aftab Ahmed, Sindh government’s food director, said wheat was released to the flour mills a few days ago and stalls were supposed to be set up when Ramazan started, adding that this problem has not been witnessed in other districts of the province.

“The government has released 120,000 metric tons of wheat to the mills in Karachi and 100,000 metric tons to those in other districts of the province.  We will take action against mills that don’t set up a stall,” he warned.

Published in The Express Tribune, August 17^th, 2010.