Subsidised flour goes on sale in Kohistan

MANSEHRA: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government has started selling subsidised wheat flour through trucks in the Upper Kohistan district fearing the commodity shortage as the price of 20 kg bag surged to an all-time high in the upper parts of the Hazara division.

“We would not establish the special points for the sale of the subsidised wheat flour and instead the commodity would be sold through trucks across the district,” a press release issued by the district administration quoted Mohammad Asif, the deputy commissioner, as saying on Thursday.

It said that subsidised wheat flour was being sold at the Shitial Bazaar under the local supervision of local magistrates and district food controller to pass on the relief to buyers.

“If anybody has a complaint about the quality, quantity and distribution mechanism of the wheat flour being sold at the subsidised price, should contact the assistant commissioner of the relevant tehsil,” the press release said.

The price of a 20-kilogram wheat flour bag has surged to Rs1,850 in urban areas and according to locals, the same bag was being sold at Rs1,900 and even a higher price in rural parts of the division.

The ban on the transpiration of wheat into the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa imposed by the Punjab government last month was yet to be lifted which has pushed up the price of the flour.