Irregularities in distribution of flour quotas alleged

The flour dealers in the local market have claimed massive irregularities in distribution of the wheat flour quota, and accused the Food Department officials of providing the commodity to unconcerned people. NWFP, a food deficient province, was severely hit by shortage of flood, resulting in the hike in the price of flour after Punjab banned the movement of both wheat and flour.
Now the Punjab government has allowed the transportation of flour to the province to arrest the growing flour shortage and upward trend in the price of the commodity. The NWFP government has established 92 fair price shops at the level of each union council of district Peshawar, where the flour was distributed at subsidised rates. Following complaints of the black-marketing, the Food Department cancelled the quotas of some dealers.
The flour of the local flourmills was sold to the people at the subsidised rate of Rs 390 per 20-kilogram bag, as against the ex-mill rate at Rs 380 per bag. For keeping check on the supply of the commodity to the bakers in the city, the government has started giving them special flour quota.
"The Nanbais Association has indulged in the black-marketing and one bag of 85 kilograms is easily available for Rs 2,100 as against official price of Rs 1,860 per bag," Latif, an atta dealer told this scribe.
The senior office-bearers of the association, he said were easily earning more than Rs 200 on the selling a single bag of the commodity in black market. However, President of the Bakers Association Mohammad Iqbal rejected the allegation, saying that some dealers were making false accusations to deprive them of their quota and sell the commodity on their own.
He said that they were getting 1,880 bags of 85 kilograms flour on daily basis and distribute it among the bakers. He said that the association had divided the district into 32 wards, which had 50 to 80 baking shops. Each baker was supplied one bag of flour on daily basis to provide bread to the people of their respective areas, he said.
For maintenance of transparency in the distribution of flour quota among the bakers, he said that they were maintaining record of the supply of each bag along with the name of the baker concerned.