The ineptitude of Sindh’s food department was exposed during the recent rains in the province that destroyed hundreds of thousands of bags of wheat worth billions of rupees stored in government godowns.
The wheat stored in the government warehouses in Karachi, Larkana, Sukkur, Qamber Shahdadkot, Kashmore, and Kandhkot was damaged by rainwater, and no precautions were taken to preserve the wheat in the warehouses in Jamshoro, Khairpur, Naushahro Feroze, and Jacobabad.
Despite knowing about the rains in the province, the Food Department had neglected to protect the wheat reserves. Consequently, government wheat worth billions of rupees that was lying in the open in all the districts is now unfit for consumption.
The Government of Sindh buys wheat worth billions of rupees every year, whle it also incurs expenses worth millions of rupees for its storage.
The Federal Minister of Finance and Revenue, Miftah Ismail, disclosed in July this year that Pakistan had purchased 800,000 tonnes of wheat by then for emergencies.
No doubt the majority has already been sold and now have rain damage as a convenient excuse.