The provincial government has temporarily ended the wheat quota for flour mills and the mills have started buying wheat from private suppliers, resulting in a price increase from Rs 60 to Rs 100 per 20 kg in Rawalpindi.
The situation has created a flour crisis as the Punjab food department failed to control the price hike. Retailers and the public feared that the crisis may worsen in the next few days.
To deal with the crisis, the provincial government has temporarily stopped supplying wheat to the flour mills.
On the provincial government’s directives, the Rawalpindi city district government fixed flour’s retail price at Rs 670 per 20 kg, but the shopkeepers are now selling it at Rs 730 to Rs 770 per 20 kg.
Shopkeepers held the flour mill owners responsible for flour price hike, saying that the owners charged extra under the pretext of carriage charges. Moreover, they said that the mill owners had increased the prices as they were receiving wheat from private dealers.
Residents were unaware about the price hike’s reasons. They said basic necessities provision was the government’s responsibility, but the provincial officials were giving a free hand to mill owners without any regard for the public’s miseries.
Rawalpindi Food Controller Shabir Niazi said that the provincial government had ended the wheat quota to the mills. Consequently, the mills were purchasing from private firms, resulting in increase in prices.
