Fazle Haq
MARDAN: The residents of Mardan complained about mismanagement in the distribution of free flour bags. Many women have also protested against the unfeasibility of the free flour at the Par Hoti area, on Monday.
Speaking to “The Frontier Post”, the majority of people said that the government had announced free flour bags for the poor, but poor planning and a lack of proper strategy meant that people were queuing for long periods to receive them. They added that the district administration had not taken practical measures for proper distribution, and pointed out that sale points had been given to flour mills whose licenses had been cancelled recently for embezzlement.
Moreover, there were no sale points at the gates of these flour mills. Instead of being a mercy to people, the free flour provided by the government was becoming a burden. Several people had been injured due to stampedes and rushes at different free flour distribution points in the district.
The people demanded that the government establish distribution points in VC and UC at different schools to provide relief to the masses. A large number of women also protested against the unfeasibility of the flour at the Par Hoti area. They complained that they had spent all day trying to obtain free flour but due to mismanagement, they had failed to receive any.
The protestors added that when they finally got back to their houses, they had to start preparing Aftari, which was very difficult for them. When contacted, the deputy commissioner, Abdur Rehman, said that more than 440 points had been established for the distribution of free flour in the Mardan district.
He argued that the district administration had done its best to provide relief to the masses, but the issue had arisen when people who had not received messages from BISP also arrived at the distribution points. He added that the district administration would provide free flour to more than 4 lakh families, but people were not waiting for their turn and instead trying to gain an advantage over others.
He also said that they had doubled the quota for the Mardan district, and further improvements would be made at the distribution points. The district administration had imposed huge fines on some flour mills involved in mismanagement, but later got an undertaking from the mill owners and restored their quota. Deputy commissioner also stated that an assistant commissioner was strictly checking these flour mills.
Police beaton residents while protesting against unavailability of flour: Citizens protested against the non-availability of flour at the mega point of distribution of free Ramadan package flour in Mardan and blocked Mardan Nowshera road. Protestors attacked a truck full of sugar on their way to the road, the police brutally charged with sticks, hurled stones at each other, injured many people including the policemen, a citizen’s legs were broken in the chaos, a child was seriously injured, the distribution of flour is going on.
The situation worsened due to the disruptive elements, AAC headquarters. According to the details, yesterday in front of Mardan Sports Complex, the big distribution point for distribution of free flour, angry citizens staged a strong protest against the administration by blocking Mardan Nowshera Road. The protestors were of the opinion that for three days, they returned to their homes disappointed due to the lack of flour.
At the same time, mistaking the truck full of sugar passing by the road as flour, the protestors attacked the truck. The legs of the other rider were broken. The angry protestors pelted stones at the police officers who were charging with sticks, injuring several police officers.
In this regard, Additional Assistant Commissioner Headquarters Junaid Khalid, in charge of Mega Point, clarified that flour distribution is being done in a fair manner under the online mechanism, but some destructive elements are threatening to spoil the peaceful environment, which the administration does not allow. The distribution is going on as per routine and will continue till the end of Ramazan.
