People want flour prices brought down

PESHAWAR: Thousands of fasting people are seen running after the trucks in many areas of the province daily during the holy month to get a free bag of flour. The law and order situation develops at several points and police have to be called during the distribution of free flour.

The situation at many distribution points in the last few days has claimed a couple of precious lives only in an effort to get a small bag of the staple. There were a number of footages in which groups of people from the mob were seen attacking trucks and snatching bags, others running after trucks while the majority returned home disappointed.

A large number of people on social media criticized the government and the district administration for their failure to provide free flour to the poor fasting people in a decent manner. "Instead of providing free flour in such a humiliating manner, the government and all the relevant departments should bring down the prices of flour to the level these were a couple of years back by going after the mafias," suggested a man on social media.

The social media users pointed out that the wheat is locally produced and the devaluation of the rupee against the dollar should not affect its prices as the country does not import all the wheat consumed in a year.

"The government and its departments must ensure the prices of flour, sugar and other food items, which are local products, are reduced to the level these were over two years back. The prices have gone up by over 200 per cent which the poor and salaried class cannot afford but the government has failed to reduce it," said another social media user.