Gul Hamaad Farooqi
CHITRAL
All political and religious parties and civil societies held a walk and pubic meting in Ataleeq square Chitral. This protest agitation and pubic meeting was held On the call of all parties, a protest meeting was also held in Ataliq Chowk, which was presided over by Ameer Jamaat-e-Islami Maulvi Jamshed. On this occasion, the protestors walked in Ataliq Bazar and later it took the form of a huge rally. Representatives of all political and religious parties, traders union, drivers union, representatives of civil society and a large number of people also participated in the meeting. On this occasion there was a complete shutter down strike in Chitral Bazar while I was on the Peshawar highway. was also blocked. Addressing the protest, the speakers said that the people of Chitral are also Pakistanis and are very peaceful citizens, but the government treats them like a stepmother. They said that the previous provincial government issued a notification and allowed non-locals to open flour mills by closing all the water mills across the district. They said that from these four mills, very poor and substandard quality flour providing to the people which is not suitable for human consumption, while the supply of wheat at subsidize rates to the people has been banned. They said that the people have also tolerated this but now During the interim government, the price of wheat was increased by 100% and instead of 6,000, a bag of 100 kg of wheat is now available for 12,000 rupees, while the same wheat is available for only 4,000 rupees in Gilgit-Baltistan.
On this occasion, they also display banners of flour mills, mafia murdabad etc. They demanded that all the flour mills in Chitral should be closed and wheat should be supplied to the people from the sale point under the old system so that these people can buy it of their own free will. It should be used in water mills because from the wheat that is crushing in the mill, fine flour is separated, white flour is separated, bran is separated and flour of very poor quality is separated which is sold to the public.
According to the government policy, the mill operating in Chitral will sell 70% of the flour to the public at a cheap rate, while it is bound to sell 30% of the flour at its own discretion. They said that the subsidized flour sold to the public is not even edible and often the mill owners smuggle the flour from here to other districts. A unanimous resolution was also passed in the meeting. Through the resolution, it was demanded that the sudden increase in the price of wheat by Rs. 6,000 per bag is a cruel decision. All parties and civil society demand that the government should withdraw this decision immediately.
Through the unanimous resolution they also demanded that wheat should be provided to the people of Chitral at the rate of Gilgit-Baltistan because the people of Chitral and Gilgit are facing the same problems. Owners of flour mills are buying the quota wheat of Chitral and selling the flour made from it to the public at double rate which is not even of standard and they are also smuggling the flour from Chitral outside the district. Through the resolution, the Food department was demanded to provide wheat to the people from the warehouses by banning the flour mills in Chitral and to stop harassing the people in the warehouses and arrange for the supply of wheat according to the needs of the people. They warned that if our demands were not fulfilled , the people will be forced to go on a shutter down and wheel jam strike and all the responsibility for the tension of the law and order situation will fall on the government.
They also alleged that on the day when the notification to stop the supply of wheat to the grain warehouses and give it to flour mill, there was one month’s stock in these warehouses but it suddenly disappeared and there should be an investigation in this regard.
Our representative went to District Food Controller office Rehmat Wali Khan to take his version for balance reporting. He said that the supply of wheat to the flour mills was stopped for nine days on the demand of the people, later this process was resumed on the direction of the provincial government. However, 200 maunds of wheat are given to the people daily from the government warehouse of Chitral, similarly 180 maunds of wheat are selling to the public from the warehouse of Drosh on daily basis, this wheat is exempted which provided to the flour mills. He said that the quota for flour mills The official rate is fixed and flour is supplied to the public at the same rate. Our correspondent also contacted the mill owners and tried to take their version but they did not answer the phone. During the public meeting, the provincial and national assembly members elected from Chitral were also severely criticized, who visiting door to door at the time of voting, but now they are disappera in this hour of trouble.
Representatives of all political and religious parties, trade union, drivers union and civil society also expressed their views in this protest meeting in which a large number of people participated. Later on it concluded with the prayerwords of Maulvi Jamshed.
