Stampedes across Pakistan for free flour

Islamabad, March 29

A woman and a man died and several others were injured in stampedes at flour distribution points in different cities of Pakistan.

People staged protests against the government for badly handling flour distribution, The News reported.

The first stampede took place in Sahiwal when a large number of people showed up to get free flour with women also standing in long queues.

As the time passed on, the crowd became impatient that caused a stampede with everyone trying to get flour bag, The News reported.

As a result, the woman was killed while 46 others were injured.

Meanwhile, the Sahiwal deputy commissioner and the district police officer reached the spot.

There were also reports of police baton-charge on the flour seekers, The News reported.

In Rahim Yar Khan, a 73-year-old man was trampled in a bid to get free flour while several others were injured.

In Jhang, women staged a protest against the alleged torture on an old woman at a flour disbursement point at the Government Graduate Boys' College. The women alleged that a discriminatory attitude was being adopted by the staff while disbursing flour bags, The News reported.

Protests and brawls for the supply of free government wheat flour were witnessed at various places in Peshawar as the city's police expressed their helplessness to control the situation, The Express Tribune reported.

Protesters blocked Kohat Road over not receiving the free flour, resulting in a massive traffic gridlock in the area.

They complained that they had to wait in long queues for the entire day and still return home empty-handed and claimed that flour was being distributed on the basis of nepotism, with political affiliation taken into account.

Complaints of not receiving the free government flour are increasing with each passing day, The Express Tribune reported.

They said across the province, its southern districts in particular, a large number of women gather at the distribution points to collect free flour, making it difficult for the police to manage the situation.

In the Hasilpur tehsil of southern Punjab, at least five women were injured in a stampede at a free flour distribution point.