When you’re feeding thousands, it all boils down to business

KARACHI: As flood survivors continue to pour into the city, one group sees the influx as a blessing in disguise: the pakwan wallahs, who supply meals twice a day to relief camps.

“Considering the fact that about 100 rupees is spent on two meals a day for one person, you can estimate the cost,” said DDO Revenue Shah Zain Kakar, who declined to provide an exact figure being spent on food.

The government has so far registered around 80,000 displaced people in its relief camps. Around 25,000 more are living in informal camps. If 100,000 people are being fed every day, then the estimated cost of the meals comes to about Rs10 million. This has meant big business for the caterers who can be found in every corner of the city, from Nazimabad to Saddar and even DHA’s Badr commercial.

A revenue official, who did not wish to be named, said his department had selected four major caterers to supply food to the people living in government-operated relief camps. “We made sure that we chose only those who quoted reasonable rates and quality meals,” he said, adding that Modla Pakwan, Ambala catering service, Mezban Pakwan House and Taj Catering are on the list.

However, quality control has not been iron-tight. The owner of Bahadurabad’s Mezban Pakwan House was arrested this week after nearly 60 people fell ill and a toddler died from their daal at the Ibrahim Hyderi camp.

Noman Ahmed, who owns the Ambala catering service in Karachi, is one of the biggest suppliers of meals to the camps at the Trading Corporation of Pakistan godowns, in Razaqabad and other government schools. “We cook for around 8,000 people twice a day,” says Ahmed. “My workers start at one in the morning and by early morning around 12,000 naans are ready.”

Ambala charges the revenue department Rs60 per meal or around Rs120 for two meals a day. “But we will be renegotiating our contract with the government to raise the price by 10 rupees because inflation has skyrocketed during Ramazan,” says Ahmed.

The price of tomatoes has shot up to Rs100 per kilogramme, chicken is now selling at Rs165 per kg, goat meat at Rs500 per kg and beef for Rs 350.

“If we continue to operate under these circumstances, our business will suffer a loss,” Ahmed says, insisting that he wasn’t working for a profit. “But the business has to be viable otherwise we would be compromising on the quality of our food.”

Luckily, the government has been making payments on time. “Surprisingly, they’ve been very efficient and within five minutes we get our cheques after our invoices are scrutinised,” says Ahmed.

The food bill is not being borne by the government alone. About 50 per cent is being taken care of by private parties who have adopted relief camps. For example, Shamim Phirpo of the Karachi Chamber of Commerce says the organisation was supplying food to a relief camp in Site from the nearby Binoria restaurant.

Iqbal’s Taj Catering works from a shop near Disco Bakery in Gulshan-e-Iqbal and is supplying food to a relief camp in SITE that houses more than 4,000 people.

Around 30 cauldrons of daal channa or lentil were distributed on Thursday morning. “The cost of daal channa comes to around Rs40 per meal, but if one adds meat to make it daal haleem then the price rises to Rs60,” says Iqbal. Chicken biryani is pricier.

Iqbal has never had so many orders to fill. “At the moment, if some other customer comes with an order for a hundred people for a private party, I have to refuse because I’m already operating to the limit of my capacity,” he says. Business has indeed been good, especially since Iqbal insists on being paid upfront: “Whether the order is from the government or a private party, unless I get Rs200,000 in advance, I don’t supply the food.”

Published in The Express Tribune, September 10^th, 2010.