The Chief Commissioner of Islamabad, Hamid Ali Khan, on Monday said there is no shortage of atta in Islamabad at present and sufficient quantity is available in the market. He stated this during his surprise visit to various markets to review arrangements regarding availability of 20 kg atta bags in the market.
He visited the markets of Karachi company, Sittara and Aabpara markets. He said that Utility Store Corporation (USC) has also restored the daily supply of 6000 atta bags and this has also stabilised the situation.
Moreover, new wheat crop has also come in the open market which has helped to overcome flour shortage. Hamid said that ICT Administration has adopted comprehensive strategy in Islamabad to deal with the situation and took effective measures to ensure availability of atta in the markets.
He said these effective measures include setting up check-posts to control illegal movement of atta, strict monitoring by vigilance teams and regular price checking by the magistrates.
Meanwhile, on the direction of Deputy Commissioner, Islamabad, Amer Ali Ahmed, 20 kg flour bags were provided at cheaper rate of Rs 370 per 20 kg in the rural areas of Tarlai, Shahzad Town, and Khana Dak under the supervision of Magistrate rural Hussain Bahadur. Meanwhile, magistrates during visits imposed fines worth Rs 8000 on 5 profiteers for indulging in over-charging.