Govt urged to increase flour, sugar quota

MANSEHRA: People have demanded the government to increase the wheat flour and sugar quota of the utility stores meant for the population of Dodial town.

“The government claims of providing relief to people through utility stores amid the ongoing high inflation rate but people return empty handed after spending hours in the long queues outside the utility stores,” former district councillor Nawaz Khan told reporters in Dodial on Saturday.

Led by Nawaz, a group of locals including the former local government representatives said that there were only two utility stores for the entire Dodial town but those stores were lacking sugar, flour and other essential commodities.

“We demand the government to increase the sugar and wheat quota for the Dodial town, besides increasing the number of the existing two stores to four in order to provide relief to the people here,” he said.

A former neighbourhood council nazim, Abrar Hussain, said the federal government should supply essential commodities to utility stores in Dodial in accordance with its population.

“The district food controller should also increase the existing numbers of the outlets where the wheat flour is being sold at the subsidised price of Rs880 per 20kg bag to meet the shortage of the commodity before the start of fasting month,” said Hussain. Mansehra city and its suburbs witnessed long queues of the men and women standing outside the utility stores to purchase sugar and wheat flour on Saturday.