SWABI: The price of 20-kilogramme bag of wheat flour here in Swabi district soared up to Rs2,000 from Rs1,700 a week ago while the commodity has not been available in the Utility Stores Corporation (USC) outlets across the district for the last three weeks.

The price of 20kg flour bag rose toRs1,700 from Rs1,500 in the local market in last three months. The consumers belonging to different regions said here on Thursday that thetraders were selling the 20kg flour bag at Rs2,000, thus registering Rs300 increase within a span of a week.

The people here claimed that the flour supply from Punjab to Khyber Pakhtunkhwa had been stopped amid strained relations between Pakistan Tehreek-i-Insaf and Pakistan Muslim League-Nawaz.

Asif Khan of Maneri Bala village said that there was over Rs1,000 difference in the price of 20kg flouravailable in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Punjab. He said the 20kg bag was selling at Rs980 in Punjab.

Khalid Khan of Gohati village said that the high price of flour in the post harvesting period showed that it would go further up in coming months.

When asked, the traders said that whenever they paid a high price for a commodity the same was transferred to the consumers.

PROMOTED: Five faculty members and researchers of Ghulam Ishaq Khan Institute of Engineering Sciences and Technology were promoted here on Thursday.In this connection a ceremony was held which was attended by GIK Institute rector Prof Dr Fazal Ahmad Khalid, pro-rector academics Prof Dr Wasim A. Khan and academic staff of the institute.

Dr Zahid Halimand Dr Syed Fawad Hussain were promoted from associate professor to professor status, while assistant professors Dr Sajjad Hussain, Dr Mohammad Asif and Dr Hadeed Ahmed Sher were promoted as associate professors.

The faculty members said their promotion meant that their academic and research work had been appreciated.