Acute sugar shortage in Rawalpindi Division.

RAWALPINDI, November 09, 2009 (Balochistan Times): The three districts of Rawalpindi Division, Rawalpindi, Attock and Chakwal are facing acute sugar shortage as their quotas are inadequate to meet the requirement of large the population. The administrations of all these districts are applying quota system for sugar distribution. Under the daily allocated quotas, sugar is supplied to the designated sale points in different urban areas in Rawalpindi Division. President Traders Association, Commercial Market, Rawalpindi Raja Toheed Ahmed said initially the government was issuing sugar bags to the shopkeepers, but now a fair price shop, Dir Store, has been opened in Commercial Market, Satellite Town. It is being supplied 1000 kg and each customer is allowed to purchase 2 kg sugar at Rs. 40 per kilogramme. General Secretary Traders Association Attock Hafiz Fazal-ur-Rehman told APP that District Coordination Officer has made 10 sugar sale points for Attock city, where 400 kg sugar is being supplied. Each customer is allowed to purchase a maximum of 2 kg sugar at Rs. 40 per kg. DDOR Tehsil Pindigheb, Malik Pervez said that District Administration issues 240 sugar bags weighing 50 kg each as the three-day quota. He said that there are eight sales points in the city and each is being provided 500 kg on daily basis. Every customer is sold 2.5 kg sugar at Rs. 40 per kg. A famous trader of Pindigheb Tasadaq Hussain Haidery said the situation was unsatisfactory in the city, while in villages sugar availability was zero and people were facing difficulties. Even if they come to the city to buy sugar they do not find this commodity there. Tehsil Nazim Pindigheb Malik Liaqat Ali Khan said that sugar is not available anywhere, the major area of Tehsil consists of over 88 villages, where not a single grain of sugar wa available. Member Provincial Assembly, Malik Khurram Ali Khan said that he is not satisfied with the sugar availability situation. He has requested the Chief Minister Secretariat and District Management of Attock to increase the sugar quota for Pindigheb. District Nazim Chakwal Sardar Ghulam Abbas observed that sugar distribution is being conducted with the mutual consultation of District Coordination Officer Chakwal and Chief Secretary Punjab. He said sugar was not available in the villages and even the price of gur had gone up to Rs. 100 per kg. Malik Adil Mukhtar, a trader of Tehsil Kalar Kahar said that sugar was not available, specially in the rural areas. Pir Sajid Hussain Shah Kroli, Tehsil Nazim Kalar Kahar said that the requirement of sugar for the whole district was 125,000 kg sugar per day, but only 60,000 kg sugar was sanctioned by the higher authorities, while the quota being actually issued was only 30,000 kg sugar daily. He said that for Kalar Kahar Tehsil some 40 sugar bags were being supplied on daily basis. There are 8 sale points in the entire tehsil, where 250 kg sugar is being sold at each point daily. He said that every customer is being given a maximum of 1 kg sugar at Rs. 40 per kg.

(THROUGH ASIA PULSE)