SARGODHA    -     Deputy Director Food Al­lah Ditta Saqib said that a target of 286,000 metric tonnes of wheat procure­ment had been set in Sar­godha division this year.

Talking to media here on Tuesday, he said that 96,000 metric tonnes wheat procurement tar­get in Sargodha district, 20,000 metric tonnes in Khushab, 60,000 metric tonnes in Mianwali and 111,000 metric tonnes of wheat purchase target were set in district Bhak­kar.

“36 wheat procure­ment centres were set up in four districts, includ­ing 13 in Sargodha dis­trict, 03 in Khushab dis­trict, 06 in Mianwali and 14 in Bhakkar district,” he said.

The deputy director food department said current year, the official price of wheat had been fixed at 9,750 rupees per 100-kg, while the farmer would have to pay delivery charges of Rs60 per sack.

He said that the food department had more than 100 percent stock of gunny bags and the supply of the bags to the farmers would contin­ue until the target was completed.

Allah Ditta Saqib said that the crackdown on wheat hoarders and smugglers was ongoing across the division and during an operation at Sial Morr, the food de­partment foiled the bid of smuggling of 40 tonnes of sacks of wheat loaded on two trucks and seized wheat had been trans­ported to the procure­ment centre in Sargodha.

Comprehensive mea­sures had also been taken to make the role of commission agents and middlemen inactive, he added.