July 21, ISLAMABAD (APP): In Khyber Pakhtunkhwa (KPK) province, the Utility Store Corporation (USC) has set up up to 200 mobile stores to help people at their doorsteps in addition to offering basic food goods at discounted prices.
According to a USC spokeswoman, “There are currently 100 mobile stores operating in the Abbotabad zone and 100 others in the Peshawar zone, which are helping people to buy things in their communities.”
The current administration’s goal is to protect the disadvantaged sections of society from the shocks of inflation that have severely affected the whole world, including Pakistan as a result of COVID-19 and the Russia-Ukraine war.
According to a USC official, at the order of Prime Minister Mian Muhammad Shehbaz Sharif, some 2,000 Sasta Atta sales sites were set up in cooperation with district administrations to offer the public subsidised flour.
Adding sugar was available for Rs 70 per kg, wheat at Rs 400 per 10 kg bag, and ghee was being sold at Rs 300 per kg, according to him, while all other essential necessities were priced significantly lower in USC stores than they were on the market.
He claimed that it was obvious that the subsidised ghee was Rs250 per kilogramme less expensive than the prices it was being sold at in the free market.
In addition, the price of sugar varied from Rs 25 to Rs 35 per kg, and the price of a 20 kg bag of wheat in USC stores was more than the going cost.
Other than this, the spokesman continued, more than 1500 goods were offered in utility stores for less money than they would cost on the free market. He said that white gramme was available for roughly Rs. 20–40, less than rates that are found in the free market, and that pulses were also supplied at low prices at USC stores. The same was true for dal channa, which was sold for about Rs. 15–20 less, while lentils were also offered at Rs. 30–40 less when compared to open market prices.
It is important to note that, in accordance with the Prime Minister’s directives, the USC already provides subsidised sugar, ghee, and wheat to the general public across the nation.
The USC administration has created arrangements to deliver essential goods at reduced prices to its customers’ doorsteps, and the general populace and the underprivileged in particular have voiced delight with these arrangements.
Speaking with APP, Kamran Nazir, a customer from Mansehra, claimed that USC has been serving residents in the district’s distant areas. This federal government programme is commendable since it directly aids the underprivileged section of society.
Another client from Mardan claimed that USC mobile service delivered excellent products and subsidies at their doorsteps, which is commendable.
There are around 4811 USC locations nationwide, of which 800 are open and operating in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa. The company also has 30 warehouses, 65 regional offices, and 9 zonal offices around the nation.
