TAXILA: Flour mills will observe a strike here against the policy set by the Punjab government to provide wheat from official stock to mills. Chairman Flour Mills Association Punjab chapter Asim Raza Ahmad claimed that high transportation charges were creating issues for mill owners.
“Mills in Rawalpindi division have stopped lifting wheat from southern Punjab due to the high freight charges. As such, the flour will not be supplied in Rawalpindi-Islamabad on Monday,” said the chairman.
Raza called the policy ambiguous and criticised it as acquiring wheat from Southern Punjab would cost an additional Rs. 350 per bag.
“The government should understand that mills could not spend Rs. 350 on the transportation of a bag of wheat. In that case, the mills will need to increase flour prices by Rs. 80 per bag. The only solution is the provision of wheat quota to mills from the godowns in respective divisions,” he stated.
The chairman said that mills situated in Rawalpindi should get wheat from the local quota. The association threatened to extend the strike in other parts of the country if their concerns and issues remained unresolved.