LARKANA:Wheat flour is being sold in entire Larkana district between Rs 65 to 70 instead of government rate of Rs 36 per kg.
Three lac wheat bags are to be given for Larkana district between 15th October to 30th February, as per government announcement, but after loading from government godowns nobody knows where these trucks are sent.
Sources alleged that these loaded trucks are sent to Punjab, Balochistan and then smuggled to Afghanistan by the mafia to gain higher profits leaving behind the local population to face hunger and higher rates.
In this connection a large protest was held at Jinnah Bagh Tuesday which was participated by Shah Muhammad Shah, Khan Muhammad Bhatti, Mir Hassan Korai and others. They said that poverty-stricken residents of Larkana are facing double hardships because of massive price hike and unavailability of locally produced food items.
They said there is a lot of difference between the wheat sold in other districts of the province and that of Larkana because two to three percent mud is mixed in a wheat bag which is locally sold and the Food Department officers and officials are constantly silent over this corruption as if they are involved in this dirty business.
On the other hand, it is alleged that higher food department officials are involved in selling wheat to their blue eyed flour mills which cannot give any relief to the poor masses and sale flour on higher rates than the fixed by the provincial government.
Labourers Qurban Ali, Manthar Baloch, Aijaz, Niaz Mirani and others said that they are working on daily waging basis adding that when we go to procure flour after day’s hard work we find new rates daily at the shops. They said we have never seen such a cruel situation in their life before. They said government should establish stalls where flour should be sold on government prices which will bring great relief to the people.
They said food department officials only believe in photo session and have done nothing as yet for the benefit of poor residents for which they should be taken to task strictly. They also demanded high level inquiry by NAB and other federal government’s probing agencies against corruption kings as to why flour is sold in the open market on exorbitant rates by flour mills, whole sellers and retailers.