By Mubasher Bukhari and Jibran Ahmad
LAHORE/PESHAWAR, Pakistan, March 30 (Reuters) - At least
five people have been killed in recent weeks and more injured in
Pakistan in stampedes at sites distributing free flour under a
government-backed scheme to help families struggling with
soaring costs of basic staples.
Thousands of people gathered at the centers set up across
the country as part of the government's efforts to ease the
impact of inflation, which running above 30%, a 50-year high.
Costs of basic goods have surged even more, with flour
prices rising over 45% in the past year.
The Pakistani government has launched the flour distribution
programme to reach millions of families in need during the holy
Islamic month of Ramadan that began last week.
Four people, including two women, have died at
distribution sites in eastern Punjab, the provincial Information
Minister Amir Mir told Reuters, adding two of the dead also had
underlying health conditions.
"Several (more) were injured because of the rush at some
spots .. Chief Minister Mohsin Naqvi has ordered an inquiry
about these incidents," Mir said.
Another person was killed in a stampede at a distribution
centre last week in northern Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province
according to records shared by the provincial food authority.
Thousands of bags of flour had also been looted from trucks
and distribution points, according to the records.
"There were some unfortunate incidents of stampedes and
looting," Khan Ghalib, an official at the provincial food
department said. "Women suffered due to heavy rush and stampede
of men in the distribution centers."
The province's food minister Fazal Elahi told Reuters it
planned to spend 19.77 billion Pakistani rupees ($69.74 million)
to get flour to over 5.7 million families.
The deadly rushes underscore the desperation in the face of
soaring costs, exacerbated by the falling currency and the
removal of subsidies agreed with the International Monetary Fund
to unlock the latest tranche of its financial support package.
($1 = 283.5000 Pakistani rupees)
(Reporting by Mubashar Bukhari in Lahore and Jibran Ahmad in
Peshawar; Writing by Ariba Shahid
Editing by Tomasz Janowski)
