Severe food crisis may hit Chitral

By Riaz Khan Daudzai
PESHAWAR: For the first time in the six-decade-long history of the country, Chitral, the area-wise largest district of the NWFP may face a severe food crisis if the government did not supply an additional 6,000 tons of wheat to the district before the end of the year.
Sources in the food department say the district food department has approached the provincial government and sought an additional 6,000 tons of wheat as the demand for the commodity had increased by 40 per cent following the drought soon after the sowing season.
A meeting in Peshawar on Thursday was informed that flour being supplied to the district was very expensive at Rs30 per kg and the local population was not used to it while wheat was less expensive for the local consumers who would grind the indigenous commodity with the imported one. They want wheat in place of flour for which the demand has already increased by 40 per cent.
The officials said initially the district food department had placed a demand of 36,000 tons in response to which it was supplied with 33,000 tons. At present the district has a stock of 23,000 tons which was not sufficient.
The district agriculture department carried out a survey and after that in its annual forecast report on the crop it said the local produce had reduced by 35 to 40 per cent.
The officials said the local production caters to only 40 per cent needs of the population while for the remaining 60 per cent it depends on the supply from the provincial ministry of food. Though no land record is available in the district, yet the ratio may go up to 20:80 as the district was facing drought due to low snowfall. The officials said recently the district had to distribute wheat to its 31 storage centers before the end of the year. They said after December 31, all routes to the valley would be blocked making it hard for the government to supply food items to the district.--The News