Millers blamed for flour crisis

by: Zulfiqar Ali Khan

HUNZA-NAGAR, Jan 19: People here have blamed flourmill owners and distributors for the current flour shortage in the region, saying they are the major beneficiaries of the crisis.

The rate of the 40kg flour bag was fixed at Rs500; however, millers and distributors are selling it at Rs1,200 to Rs1,400 per 40kg through blackmarketing. The mill owners and distributors allegedly smuggle the local quota of the community out of Hunza.

The youth in Aliabad have started watching the flourmills in Hassanabad and the main stocks of distributors and shops in Aliabad. They foiled flour smuggling attempts twice during the last week and confiscated about 200 flour bags being smuggled out of the valley.

The people said though the local administration was not directly involved in the smuggling but it was its responsibility to develop a mechanism so that the flour mafia cannot create an artificial shortage in the region.

Talking to this correspondent, a local elder said they used to store flour for the whole year; however, this year majority of the villagers were provided with only a single bag of flour under the quota. He said the dealers were distributing flour to their near and dear ones and were responsible for creating artificial crisis in the area. Also at Dawn