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CHITRAL, Jan 8: Prices of daily use commodities have increased sharply in the Chitral district because of persisting closure of the Lowari pass. Residents said the government seemed helpless to arrest the situation as early reopening of the only land route between Chitral and the rest of the country was not in sight.
“It seems that 500,000 plus population of Chitral has been placed at the mercy of few hoarders and profiteers who have held the government hostage,” they said.
They said after the closure of the pass, smooth flow of commodities from Peshawar to Chitral via Afghanistan continued as a result of an agreement between the two countries.
Permits are issued without any fee to traders to transport goods from Peshawar to Chitral by the district government.
The fare of goods from Peshawar to Chitral has not been increased which is Rs140 per 40kg and therefore there is no reason to increase the prices, they said.
The commodities in short supply are: ghee, sugar and flour.
The consumers believe that commodities are being hoarded by traders to increase the prices.
They held the district government responsible for the price hike as it has yielded to pressure of black marketers.
A bag of 50kg flour available at Rs600 in the first week of December has now spiralled to 700 rupees.
The ghee tin of 5kg is being sold at Rs330 which is available at only Rs260 in Peshawar. The ghee and flour are not easily available even at the escalated prices.
VISIT PAKISTAN YEAR: No special events are scheduled to be held in Chitral valley during the year 2007, being celebrated as the 'Visit Pakistan Year' to exploit the tourism potential of the country.
“The picturesque Chitral valley remains as ignored as ever before,” sources in the Pakistan Tourism Development Corporation (PTDC) told Dawn on Monday.
The calendar of events for the 'Visit Pakistan Year' features only three festivals to be held during the current year. They are Chilim Jusht of Kalash Valley from May 15 to 21, Shandur festival from July 7 to 9 and Baroghil festival from July 15 to 18.
“The tourism ministry has not prepared any special programmes to exploit the tremendous tourism potential that the valley holds,” said the sources.
The festivals of Chilim Jusht and Shandur attract a large number of tourists while the Baroghil festival remains average in terms of people’s participation as the venue of the festival cannot be accessed by road. Those willing to reach the festival have to go trekking for two days to reach the venue that borders Afghanistan.
There has been no addition to the existing five tourist resorts constructed by the PTDC some 10 years back. Add to that, three of these resorts have not yet been operational.
Relevant sources believe that lack of infrastructure is one of the factors affecting growth of tourism in the valley. Besides, security continues to be a big concern for foreign tourists.
“A tourist requires only two to three days to visit across the length and breadth of the valley. Kalash valley and Garam Chashma are among the limited number of options that the valley offers. Having satiated his desire in a day or two, the tourist moves on to the Northern Areas,” said a tour operator.
“There are a lot of places having the potential to turn into ideal tourist attractions. Among them are the valleys of Golen, Yarkhoon, Laspur, Terich, Oveer and Madaklasht,” he said.
