Multiple people have been injured in a stampede during the free distribution of wheat flour at the Sports Complex in Mardan on Sunday.
According to eyewitnesses, the distribution process was chaotic, with citizens accusing administrative staff of making them wait in queues for hours despite being eligible for the free distribution of flour. The mismanagement led to protests by citizens, who blocked the Nowshehra Road and threw stones at police personnel and the Sports Complex gate.
In response, the police resorted to baton-charge and aerial firing to disperse the crowd, resulting in injuries to many citizens.
This incident comes only five days after the start of the flour distribution campaign, during which incidents of women and elderly citizens getting injured and fainting have widely been reported.
This is not an isolated incident. In recent weeks, several incidents of mismanagement and stampedes have been reported across the country during the free distribution of flour.
In Charsadda, a man was killed, and several others were injured, in a similar stampede. In Swabi and Kohat, several people were injured during the free distribution of flour. In the Hasilpur Tehsil of southern Punjab, at least five women were injured in a stampede at a free flour distribution point.
In January, a man was killed during a stampede at the sale point of subsidised flour in Mirpurkhas.
