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KARACHI: The Sindh government has admitted that tonnes of wheat have rotted after years of being stored in government warehouses before being supplied to the flour mills.
The statement came from the Secretary Food Sindh, Abdul Haleem Shaikh, who appeared before Sindh High Court (SHC) on Wednesday for a hearing of a case of wheat hoarding and smuggling.
A two-judge bench comprising Justice Muhammad Ali Mazhar and Justice Amjad Ali Sehto heard the petition. The petitioner’s counsel argued that wheat smuggling was rampant and there is no one to hold the provincial government accountable for it.
The court asked Secretary Food about the steps that had been taken to prevent the theft and stockpiling of wheat. At this, Haleem Shaikh said that there is limited space in the government warehouses which is why some of the stock is kept in private warehouses.
He also stated that some portion of the wheat gets spoiled due to the rains. The court, in this regard, has sought a detailed reply on the production and smuggling of wheat and its storage and spoilage in warehouses. The hearing was adjourned until 10 March.
The provincial government had released six-year-old spoiled wheat to the flour mills across the province earlier this week but the supply had been canceled after a leaked video revealed how rotten wheat is being supplied to mills.
