Flour price hike seen as government’s failure

Lahore: The Punjab Forum on Sunday said hike in wheat flour prices has added to the miseries of the masses which is failure of the government policies.

Government is inviting food insecurity in an agricultural country to please the IMF and benefit few influential, it said.

Failure of the government to check prices of wheat flour has exposed its tall claims regarding a change which deceived masses during the polls, said Baig Raj, President of the Punjab Forum.

Baig Raj said that millers are finding it difficult to absorb the recent hike in power tariff and transportation charges therefore burden has been passed on the masses in the shape of flour price hike.

Resultantly, he said, the price of flour has inflated to the highest ever of Rs 9 per kg disappointing masses who had pinned great hopes on the new government.

The poor wage earners and their families are being forced to sleep hungry to please lenders and rural elite, he added.

The government popularity has been dropping due to failure in containing terror, crimes, inflation, drones and destabilising exchange rate; it cannot afford another massive failure, he observed.

Baig Raj said that government should stop bribing nobility, freeze wheat support price which is highest in the world, give subsidy to farmers on agricultural inputs or subsidize electricity bills of flour mills to keep flour prices stable.

Otherwise, he warned, a new wave of price-hike in the country will frustrate masses to an extent that it may become a serious problem for the inefficient government.