KARACHI: More than ten million bags of wheat stored in Sindh government warehouses may go to waste.
Just in Karachi , there are stockpiles of 4 million bags, and in the Landhi warehouse, over 200,000 bags filled with wheat have rotted and spoiled.
Relevant officials have stated that the provincial government purchased this wheat two years ago at an aid price of Rs. 10,000 per 100 kg. However, the open market price was about Rs. 3,500 lower, so the wheat was not sold.
According to officials, the open market price of wheat gradually fell to around Rs. 6,400 per 100 kg, leading to a delay in selling the expensive wheat purchased earlier. As a result of this indecision, over 200,000 tons of wheat in the Landhi warehouse has rotted rather than being turned into bread or reaching the poor.
The key issue is that if this wheat had been sold to flour mills in a timely manner, the government treasury would have suffered relatively less loss. But since it was left to rot and spoil, who will be held responsible for the billions of rupees in losses incurred?
