The Punjab Food Department on Tuesday supplied 10,302 tonnes of wheat to flour mills in five major districts of the province, including Rawalpindi, Lahore, Gujranwala, Multan and Faisalabad, to meet the flour shortages.
Department sources told Business Recorder on Tuesday that Rawalpindi received 4,506 tonnes of wheat, Lahore 2,352, Gujranwala 1,288, Multan 1,000 and Faisalabad 1,156. The sources claimed that 20,000 wheat-flour bags of 20 kilogrammes each were sold at special points in Rawalpindi, 17,475 in Lahore, 9,989 in Gujranwala, 17,597 in Multan and 16,950 in Faisalabad.
They said the number of the bags supplied in the open market remained 188,537 in Rawalpindi, 122,172 in Lahore, 66,309 in Gujranwala, 21,652 in Multan and 32,102 in Faisalabad. The sources said the department had devised a comprehensive mechanism of follow-up to ensure that these bags were supplied at these sales points and in the open market making it available for the public.
They added that the department had also issued a show-cause notice to two DFCs in Lahore for failing to attend a meeting convened by the city's district co-ordination officer to review the flour situation in the country. They also said over 19,000 tonnes of wheat were being issued in the province.