ISLAMABAD, Jan 13: The government on Sunday increased the wheat quota for provinces and deployed over 6,000 personnel of Frontier Constabulary and Rangers at mills, godowns and routes across the country to ensure smooth supply of flour to markets.

The decision was taken to overcome the flour crisis in the country following reports that the commodity is being hoarded and smuggled to Afghanistan.

Sources said that Rangers and FC personnel were escorting the wheat supply from godowns to mills and from mills to distribution points and markets, monitoring daily production of flour at mills according to their quota and checking illegal movement of the commodity.

An official at the newly-formed Federal Food Committee (FFC) confirmed that Rangers and FC personnel had begun their duties for ensuring desired wheat movement on Sunday.

Forces have been deployed at flour mills, godowns and along routes in Islamabad.

Meanwhile, an FFC meeting presided over by its chairman Lt-Gen Farooq Ahmed on Sunday night increased the wheat quota of the provinces.

The meeting raised daily wheat quota of Sindh to 9,000 tons from 6,000 tons. The NWFP will get 6,500 tons as against the exiting 6,000 tons while Balochistan’s quota has been increased to 1,000 tons.

An official who attended the FFC meeting said the wheat quota for the provinces had been increased according to their demand. He said Punjab had made no demand.

The meeting decided that flour mills in the provinces would continue their production during Muharram and there would be no holiday for their staff even on 9th and 10th Muharram.

“For 10th Muharram an advance quota of wheat would be released. Similarly, an advance supply of wheat to the flour mills will be ensured,” he said.

The meeting expressed the hope that with increased wheat quota for the provinces and deployment of paramilitary troops, the flour crisis in the country would end in the next three to four days.

It also decided to increase the daily flour quota for utility stores across the country by 100 per cent from Monday. They will get 100,000 bags of 20kg per day as against the present quota of 50,000 bags.

Saleem Shahid adds from Quetta: Personnel of the Frontier Corps took the control of 55 flour miles and 44 godowns of the provincial food department in Balochistan.Frontier Corps IG Maj-Gen Saleem Nawaz told reporters that a ban had been imposed on the export of wheat to Afghanistan by the private sector.

“The decision has been taken to resolve the wheat and flour crisis in Balochistan,” he said, adding that FC personnel had also been deployed at wheat godowns and four mills in the province.

“We have seized 92 trucks loaded with wheat in Chaman,” he said.

He appealed to people to discourage the hoarders and buy wheat and flour form utility stores on subsidised rates.

Meanwhile, protests continued across the province against the shortage of flour.

In Zhob, people pelted the office of district nazim with stones and blocked the national highway by putting barricades.

Later, FC men opened the highway after dispersing the protestors.

In Panjgur, hundreds of people led by BNP-Mengal leader Jahanzeb Baloch and National Party leader Rehmat Baloch took out a protest rally. They marched on different roads and raised slogans against the government.

The leaders criticised the government and said that it had failed to provide essential food items to people. They said that robberies, unemployment and loadshedding were the gifts of the present government.

They alleged that the flour crisis had been created by the government itself to divert the attention of people from the assassination Benazir Bhutto.

Protesters in Dera Murad Jamali asked the government to resign because it had failed to provide basic food items to the masses.