Elders seek sale of wheat stock in Chitral to prevent spoilage

CHITRAL: Representatives of civil society from Upper and Lower Chitral on Saturday urged the authorities concerned to sell around 200,000 wheat bags stored in government warehouses for the last two years at a subsidized rate to prevent them from spoilage.

Speaking at a press conference at the Chitral Press Club on Saturday, social activist Farooq Ahmad from Ayun, former union council nazim Abdul Majeed Qureshi, former tehsil naib nazim Mastuj Fakhruddin, and others said that a huge quantity of wheat stored in over 18 warehouses across Upper and Lower Chitral districts was deteriorating due to long-term storage and lack of distribution.

They revealed that reports have already surfaced of insect infestation in the wheat stock at warehouses in many areas, raising serious concerns about food safety and public resource wastage.

Farooq Ahmad blamed the situation on the government’s poor policy decisions, saying that the high procurement prices at government warehouses and the lack of subsidized flour in the open market have resulted in a deadlock that is now threatening to cause billions of rupees in losses to the provincial treasury.

“Not only is the wheat going to waste, but even the empty jute bags worth millions of rupees are deteriorating. Their timely auction could have generated revenue for the government,” he said.