Essential items’ crisis deepening in upper Chitral

CHITRAL: The shortage of essential items has been deepening in far-off areas of the district including Kalash valleys, Mastuj sub-division and Lotkoh tehsil as floods continue to devastate various villages.
Fresh floods destroyed houses in Brep in Yarkhun valley and two villages in Torkhow.Sources said food crisis was emerging in Karimabad, Shogore and Garam Chashma in Lotkoh tehsil; Khot, Rech, Brep, Laspur, Sonogor, Kosht, Muzgol and Warijun in sub-division Mastuj.
The floods had washed away roads leading to Lotkoh and Mastuj sub-division some 15 days back. “Though relief items are being supplied to flood-hit areas, it is too meager to meet the overall requirement of the area,” said an official requesting not to be named. He said the almost over 0.2 million of population in upper Chitral is almost inaccessible after river washed away a portion of road near Koragh.
“Many bridges connecting small villages with major towns have also been destroyed and there is no means to provide relief to the people,” he added.However, an official of the Food Department in Chitral said that they had sufficient stock of wheat at the moment.However, he said the roads to many far-off areas had been destroyed and there was no other way to transport the stuff to those areas.