PESHAWAR: Police fired tear gas shells at a crowd after it tried to force its way into a Hayatabad Township sports stadium here on Saturday to receive free wheat flour under a government scheme.

The people pelted police personnel with stones for blocking their entry to the centre.

However, no one was injured in the incident that occurred at around 12pm.

A police official told Dawn that the district administration managed the crowd and flour distribution with the help of the police and civil defence volunteers.

He said the police allowed people to go into the premises from one gate and exit it from another after collecting flour bags.

People later pelt police officials with stones; no one injured in incident

“After the entry of 200-250 people, a mob attempted to make a forced entry into the stadium but our [police] personnel stopped it. The people threw stones at them. They lobbied tear gas shells to disperse them,” he said. The official said no one from either side was injured in the incident.

He, however, said the stones pelted by the mob smashed window panes of the building.

The official insisted that those people had shown up from nearby areas after learning about flour distribution.

He said the police hadn’t registered any FIR.

Meanwhile, the Jamaat-i-Islami staged a protest demonstration in the Arang area of Utmankhel tehsil of Bajaur tribal district alleging corruption, irregularities and mismanagement in free flour distribution. It was the fourth such rally, which was attended by JI workers and other residents in large numbers.

The protesters shouted slogans against the federal and provincial governments, district administration and food department accusing them of poor distribution arrangements.

They said the way flour was distributed was below human dignity and respect.

The protesters urged authorities to stop humiliating the deserving and poor people, especially women, by holding the exercise in an organised manner.

The JI leaders, including Maulana Waheed Gul, Haji Sardar Khan, Qari Abdul Majeed, Salahuddin, Raza Shah and Arifullah, alleged that the current mechanism of flour distribution was an insult to the people, including women and elderly men, as they had to queue up from early morning to late evening during the current month of fasting to receive flour bags.

They said the government should have given cash handouts to the needy people to buy essential goods to their relief.

The speakers demanded flour distribution in an organised manner across the province and said authorities should also ensure that the flour is of good quality, is given away to people in a dignified way and reaches the deserving families only.

Meanwhile, the administration of Bajaur district on Saturday claimed to have foiled an attempt to sell that free wheat flour on the market by arresting a dealer and seizing 358 flour bags.

According to a statement issued by the office of the deputy commissioner, the dealer’s godown in Sadiqabad Bazaar was raided by assistant commissioner of Khar subdivision Mahibullah Khan Yousafazai.

Accompanied by the police personnel, the official recovered 358 begs of wheat flour from the godown. The flour was to be poured into other bags before being supplied to shops for sale.

The deputy commissioner’s office said that the godown was sealed after the recovery of the flour and arrest of the dealer.

It added that a first information report had been registered by the local police station against the dealer under the Food Safety Act for action.

UNFAIR FLOUR DISTRIBUTION: Chairmen of village and neighbourhood councils in Mansehra district on Friday demanded of authorities to ensure fair distribution of free flour here.

“Deserving families in most areas of village and neighbourhood councils aren’t receiving free wheat flour,” village council chairman Basharat Ali Swati told reporters.

He said a group of village and neighbourhood council chairmen met the deputy commissioner and district food controller earlier in the day and apprised them of the “unjust” flour distribution in the district.

Village council head Malik Mumtaz also complained that deserving families in far-off villages didn’t get free flour. He said the “direct” involvement of political workers had raised questions about the exercise.

Another council chairman Asif Khan said the government should involve local body members for flour distribution.

Council chairman Shahzada Khan said political interference should be brought to an end for fair distribution at the village council level.

Other participants including Amir Khan, Naveed Tanoli, Usman Khalid and Abdul Qayyum called for the opening of more flour distribution points at village and neighbourhood council level.

Published in Dawn, April 2nd, 2023