An acute shortage of wheat flour, pulses and sugar has erupted at government operated Utility Stores across the twin cities owing to imposition of lockdown, Business Recorder observed here on Wednesday.
The survey observed that following the significant increase in the prices of essential commodities especially wheat flour, sugar, pulses and cooking oil/ghee and other items, the poor and middle class people are thronging the government operated Utility Stores to buy essential kitchen items but they have to return empty handed as these items are not available on the stores.
People talking to this correspondent said that after the imposition of the lockdown the prices of the entire range of essential kitchen items excluding vegetables have witnessed significant increase.
They said that within past one week or so, wheat flour prices had been increased to Rs1,450 per 20kg bag from Rs1,100 per bag, and sugar price had reached Rs85-87 per kg from Rs80 per kg.
They further said that prices of all the pulses, ghee/cooking oil, powder chillies and other items had also been increased.
According to traders, the powder red chilli's price has reached Rs500 per kg from Rs450 per kg, Dal Moong from Rs240 per kg to Rs300 per kg, Dal Mash from Rs250 per kg to Rs270 per kg, normal Dal Chana price from Rs140 per kg to Rs180, and prices of all the other pulses had also increased.
The flour millers and sugar millers after the lockdown have regularly increased the wheat flour and refined sugar prices as the government failed to check the prices.
Flour millers within past one week increased the commodity price by over Rs400 per 25kg bag or Rs8 per kg.
People said that following the imposition of the lockdown the government-controlled wheat flour had disappeared from the retail stores, saying although the government-controlled wheat flour was of substandard quality but it was not available anywhere.
Similarly, sugar millers have also taken up the ex-mill sugar price from Rs3,860 per 50kg bag to Rs4,200 per 50kg bag, which in retail was being sold at Rs88 per kg against Rs82 per kg.
Wheat flour traders, while talking on the matter, said they were hardly getting wheat flour from mills as after each day the millers were increasing the commodity prices.
They said that on Monday (March 30) millers were charging Rs1,330 per 25kg bag of wheat flour, which now was being charged at Rs1,430 per bag. They said that some of the millers were totally not supplying the wheat flour, while those supplying were overcharging.
They said the supply of sugar remained completely stopped for two days but now the millers were supplying the commodity but at increased rates.
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