KARACHI – Trading community has demanded strict action against flour mills mafia for a strike and creating an artificial shortage of flour to mint money from masses during the holy month of Ramadan.
The government should crush the mafia which is hurting masses during the holy month and planning to spoil their Eid, traders said.
This was observed during a meeting chaired by former President ICCI Shahid Rasheed Butt here on Tuesday.
Traders said that this is a devastating attack on masses which is a more serious issue than the coronavirus. The aim of the mafia is nothing but to add billions to their coffers at the cost of the poor.
The participants observed that never before in the history of the country, a crisis has erupted during wheat procurement drive and the prices never shot up like this.
Speaking at the occasion, Shahid Rasheed Butt said that provision of flour to masses at control rates is the responsibility of the government which should be discharged and the recent price hike of two rupees per kilogram should be reversed.
The flour supply has been stopped across the three provinces which can result in massive unrest, therefore a merciless action should be taken against the mafia.
He said that the flour mills mafia wants continued hoarding, profiteering, adulteration and smuggling while expecting the authorities to ignore their activities.
They also want their jailed colleagues to be released unconditionally and they should be given a free hand to play with the lives of poor people which is impossible as the large-scale operation against hoarders had also had a positive impact on wheat procurement and eased the target of wheat subsequently.
He said that the mafia will never achieve their unholy aim to blackmail masses and the government.
Mr. Butt informed that Punjab Food Department had so far procured 3.6 million metric tonnes of wheat and it would be able to achieve the biggest target of 4.5 million metric tonnes.
He said the procurement of 36 lakh metric tonnes of wheat achieved so far was to avoid shortage of wheat and flour in Punjab but this was not acceptable to the mafia.
