LAHORE: The Punjab Price Control and Commodity Management Department reported on Friday the recovery of 334,000 metric tonnes of wheat from hoarders. A meeting chaired by Dr. Kiran Khurshid, Secretary of the department, revealed that wheat stocks in flour mills had increased by 165,000 metric tonnes this month, and 360,000 metric tonnes of wheat had been ground to ensure a steady supply of flour.
Section 144 was imposed to curb hoarding, and the department has been monitoring wheat stocks stored in various locations. Operations were carried out by the Punjab food directorate, district administrations, and Punjab Enforcement and Regulatory Authority (Pera) at 2,095 locations across the province.
As a result of these efforts, the price of wheat, which had risen to Rs 3,800 per 40kg, has now dropped to Rs 3,000 in the open market. Dr. Khurshid emphasized the need for continued action against illegal hoarders throughout Punjab.
Additionally, the Punjab government has established a Strategic Management Wing (SMW) within the Price Control Department. This wing will be supervised by Price Control Additional Director General Azooba Azeem and will monitor the demand, supply, availability, and prices of commodities, both locally and internationally. The wing will integrate the dashboards and portals of all related departmental institutions and track ongoing field operations, compliance, and key performance indicators (KPIs).
Operations against hoarders were also conducted in Dera Ghazi Khan and Taunsa, where 75,000 maunds of hoarded wheat were seized from two cotton factories. In Taunsa Sharif, 21 warehouses and shops were sealed, and significant quantities of hoarded wheat were recovered.
