Multiple people were injured in a stampede during the free distribution of wheat flour at the Sports Complex in Mardan on Sunday, allegedly due to mismanagement during the distribution process.
According to eyewitnesses, the distribution process was chaotic, with citizens accusing administrative staff of making them wait in queues for hours despite being eligible for the free distribution of flour.
The mismanagement led to protests by citizens, who blocked the Nowshehra Road and threw stones at police personnel and the Sports Complex gate. In response, the police resorted to baton-charge and aerial firing to disperse the crowd, resulting in injuries to many citizens.
This incident comes only five days after the start of the flour distribution campaign, during which incidents of women and elderly citizens getting injured and fainting have widely been reported.
According to reported that hundreds of bags of flour were being embezzled on a daily basis through the issuance of fake slips, and bags of flour were being sold at exorbitant prices in the market. Due to the lack of effective checking by district administration and alleged involvement of staff, dozens of people are being deprived of free flour every day.
This is not an isolated incident. In recent weeks, several incidents of mismanagement and stampedes have been reported across the country during the free distribution of flour.
In Charsadda, a man was killed, and several others were injured, in a similar stampede. In Swabi and Kohat, several people were injured during the free distribution of flour. In the Hasilpur Tehsil of southern Punjab, at least five women were injured in a stampede at a free flour distribution point.
In January, a man was killed during a stampede at the sale point of subsidised flour in Mirpur Khas.
On Saturday, an elderly woman allegedly died during struggle to get free flour in tehsil Jatoe, district Muzaffargarh.
One person was killed and eight others injured during a stampede for free flour in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa’s Charsadda on Thursday, the first day of the holy month of Ramazan.
The price of basic food items has rocketed in recent months, with inflation at a near 50 year-high as the country grapples with a balance of payments crisis that has seen it forced back into negotiations with the International Monetary Fund.
“Nine people were trampled and were taken to hospital where one person died,” said Muhammad Arif, police chief for Charsadda. In a nearby district, a man died and four others were injured when a wall they were sitting on collapsed as crowds amassed for free flour.
