Ramazan gets tough in Chitral as difficulties escalate for locals

Gul Hammad Farooqi

CHITRAL: Residents of Chitral are facing great problems in the holy month of Ramzan due to acute shortage of edible things and back breaking dearness of essential commodities. On arrival of this month the hoarders and shopkeepers raised prices of essential edible things. While on the other hand these things not available in Utility stores running under government agency. As a result people of Chitral deprived from Ramzan packages where these things are selling on subsidize rates in Utility stores. There is no Date (Khurma), flour, Beesan, pulses, sugar and other things in 24 utility stores of Chitral while on the other hand a very poor class Date (Khurma) is selling @ 230 to 260 rupees per kilogram in open market despite that Food department has fixed its rate 130 per KG only of first class

date but there is no check and balance in market. Chitral people suffering badly from dearness on one hand but they also face great problems due to non scheduled load shedding of electricity like before of Ramzan. The Pesco (Peshawar Electricity Supply Company) exercising 12 to 16 hours continue load shedding in different parts of the district despite that there is no shortage of power supply but it seems that this is also a political game. The pesco staff removing links of different transformers at 7. AM to 7 PM (continue 12 hours) and people of rural areas can not sleep at day time due to no electricity and sever hot weather. They were also allowed to run diesel generator in this month to minimize load shedding but people of the area are alleging that they running them for a very short period and show long duration in papers just to earn money of diesel. Due to climate change there is no rain of monsoon in Chitral and the district is in grip of hot layer.

Potable drinking water also not available in different parts of town area like Shahmirandeh, Singor, Balach etc. Water and Sanitation Unit (WSU) supply water regularly only to Bazar area and officers colony as well as government offices but residents of these villages who deprived from water are paying their utility bills of water regularly equally to those consumers (officers and influential segment) who utilize drinking water for more than 16 hours. An Other shock able news was erected for Chitral people when All Pakistan Contractor Association boycotted from taking part in any tender of developmental works and they also stopped ongoing works in the entire district. They are protesting against the inhuman behavior of Executive Engineer of C&W department Chitral Pir Muhammad. They alleged that million of rupees for category 2 hospital at Ayun and Girls Degree College Drosh were lapsed due to negligence of the said XEN. They announced of suspending all developmental works until posting out of XEN Pir Muhammad who is being supporting by ANP ruling party in the province they alleged. Due to this scenario work has also suspended on construction of Khan Abdul Wali Khan By pass road as a result people of Chitral facing great problems.

Work on Lawari tunnel also has been suspended for the last three years and SAMBU Construction Company has shifted their machinery to other place. Residents of Chitral have appeal to Federal as well as Provincial government and concern quarters for solving of their problems by supplying essential edible things to utility stores of Chitral, minimizing longest load shedding of electricity and assuming work on developmental work at Chitral after posting of XEN Pir Muhammad so to save fund from lapsing. They also appeal for providing of potable drinking water to Shahmiran Deh, Singor, Balach, etc villages as well as releasing fund for construction of Lawari tunnel to resume work on this mega project.