Nanbais on strike across KP for indefinite period

Farid Shinwari

PESHAWAR: After the flour prices soared across Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, the Nanbais Association has announced its strike for indefinite period and shutting down its shops in entire province.

As per announcement of KP Nanbais Association, the tandoors will remain closed across the province as part of its strike. The announcement came to surface, talks between provincial government and Nanbais Association did not reach to a consensus point.

The Nanbais Association had earlier demanded the KP government to accept its demand by increasing price of roti (weigning 170g) on Rs15 while on the other hand, the former declined to implement the suggested rate.

In the aftermath of closure of all shops in provincial metropolitan, it created problems for dwellers of provincial city to buy loaf as the strike remained continue for entire day. As the bag of super fine wheat flour weighing 85kg is being sold for Rs5,200 and a 20kg bag is being sold for Rs1,100 in various areas of KP.

One of the residents of provincial city, Adil Khan who works with a welfare organization said he had bought a roti on Rs30 instead of Rs10 in a market in University Town. He informed he had bought a single roti from a Kabab seller shop who was taking advantage of the strike in city.

He revealed that the shopkeeper was not openly selling roti to customers but taking them inside his shop to avoid any action. About the provincial government, he remarked it should again engaged itself with representatives of Nanbais Association to solve the issue once for all.

Shamsur Rehman of Gulbahar area of Peshawar, was of the view that I wondered here and there to find roti but failed despite visiting all tandoors. He lashed out at federal and provincial government for their failure to resolve the issue and saying the general public are suffering in this regard.

As it should be kept in mind that  despite of being an agrarian country, Pakistan is facing with wheat shortage and flour is being sold at price of Rs.70 per kg after crises intensified in various areas of the province, he added.

KP Information Minister, Shaukat Yousafzai had clearly in his presser categorically said that they would not let Nanbais to increase prices from Rs10 to Rs15 but the weight of it can be negotiated. Federal and provincial governments have directed relevant authorities to take stringent actions against hoarders and profiteers for artificial crises of flour in markets.