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Flour crisis persists in capital

* People visit utility stores due to unavailability of flour in market at control price, many return empty handed as the stores fail to meet the demand

By Sohail Chaudhry

ISLAMABAD: The flour crisis persists in the federal capital despite the government’s claims of arrangements to ensure flour availability in the markets at a control rate.

The government had claimed that it would overcome the flour shortage in the city within three days but it has failed to ensure the supply to meet the residents’ demand.

People’s rush at the utility stores presents a bleak situation. Muhammad Nawaz, the utility stores area manager, said that the situation was not satisfactory as far as the supply of required quantity of flour bags in the market was concerned. He said people approach utility stores due to unavailability of flour in the market at a controlled price and a large number of them return empty handed as stores fail to meet the demand.

Nawaz said that keeping in view flour shortage in the market the authorities had doubled the supply of flour from 150 bags to 300 bags to facilitate the maximum customers visiting the stores but this increase was also proving insufficient.

However, sources at the stores said that only 200 bags were being provided to the stores since the crisis started. They said the flour shortage still prevails as before the crisis the stores were provided with 500 to 600 bags on daily basis, which were sold the same day.

They said sometimes people started scuffling with each other to get the flour bags out of their turn.

Expressing their dismay over the situation, customers at utility stores criticised the government for inadequate arrangements to ensure supply of flour in the market. They also criticised the Islamabad administration, which had claimed that the crisis would be over within few day.

They held the district administration responsible for the persistent crisis. They were of the view that government’s mismanagement and negligence resulted into such a crisis.

They said weakness of the government and flourmill owners’ monopoly were the main reasons of repeated flour shortages in the country. They said flourmill owners were creating artificial shortage to exploit the situation for hefty profits.

They said the government’s inefficient policies had forced them to waste their time while standing in long queues to get flour despite record wheat production in Pakistan, a country with agrarian economy. Jahanzeb Khan, a resident of G-7/3, said he was standing in front of the utility store for the last two hours to get a bag of flour but the authorities were not telling the time when they would be provided with the commodity.

People said they were forced to wait in queues for long, as there was a huge difference in price of flour bag at the store and in open market.

“A bag of 20 kg flour is being sold in the market for Rs 300 to Rs 320 while at the utility stores it is available for Rs 260,” said Asad Mubin, another customer.

A customer Shahida Bibi said she was standing in the queue for the last two hours. “People start scuffling when the store in charge begins selling flour bags, due to which most women return home empty handed,” she added.

People from suburban areas of Islamabad are also approaching utility stores to get flour. Waheed Alam, who had come all the way from a village situated in Margallah Hills, said that there was an acute shortage of flour in his area and he had come to the city to get a bag of flour. He said he might not be able to get the commodity due to rush at the store.

Sagheer Abbasi, a retailer, said the situation was unsatisfactory regarding the supply of flour in the market. He said sale points designated by the district administration in different parts of the city could help meet the residents’ demand.

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