PESHAWAR: The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government distributed 315,534 bags of subsidized flour at official rates through 1,771 active dealers across the province over the past week, the provincial Food Department said Monday.
The provincial government is releasing 2,000 metric tons of government wheat daily from the Provincial Strategic Reserve to flour mills, according to the Food Department. Twenty thousand bags of 100 kilograms each are being supplied to active mills across the province daily.
Authorities are providing 20-kilogram bags of subsidized flour to citizens for Rs2,520 through selected dealers, officials said.
Division-wise distribution figures released by the department show Peshawar Division received 69,446 bags, Mardan Division received 41,452 bags and Malakand Division received 78,122 bags. Hazara Division received 65,400 bags, Bannu received 11,660 bags, Dera Ismail Khan Division received 32,094 bags and Kohat Division received 17,360 bags.
The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Food Authority and Food Department teams are regularly monitoring the quality of wheat and flour, the department said.
Special Assistant to the Chief Minister on Food Dr. Muhammad Israr Khan urged citizens to monitor the quality of flour produced from government wheat and report substandard flour immediately.
Any flour mill found providing substandard flour will face cancellation of its official quota and legal action, the special assistant said.
“The Khyber Pakhtunkhwa government is taking all possible steps to provide quality and affordable flour to the public,” Khan said.
He attributed rising flour prices nationwide to “incorrect policies” of the Punjab government, stating that Punjab has maintained barriers to inter-provincial free trade of flour and wheat.
