MOHMAND - Local tribesmen have demanded that the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister, Food Department officials, and district administration take action against flour mills and traders who sell poor quality subsidised wheat flour.
According to tribesmen, it was difficult to find quality food items, particularly wheat flour, in local markets. They noted that while the price of flour in the main market had decreased, the quality of subsidised flour had deteriorated.
Attaullah Khan, a resident of Halimzai, lamented that he purchased two 40kg bags of flour from a dealer two days ago for Rs2600 each, but the commodity was unusable due to chaff. Nazir Khan, a resident of Anat-kor, said he paid Rs 1350/- for a 40kg bag of subsidised flour from a dealer in Ghalanai Bazaar, but it was full of chaff. He complained that his children began vomiting after eating the bread.
A flour dealer told this correspondent that he had transported a truckload of wheat flour from a mill in Marble City that supplies the subsidised flour, but that he couldn’t be held responsible for the poor quality because it was the fault of the mill.
Locals urged the district administration in Mohmand to take notice and maintain strict oversight of the affected flour mills and dealers to protect consumers’ interests.
