CHITRAL, May 13: The food department of the district has mixed unhygienic old stock of imported wheat with fresh gatherings.

The food department has reportedly mixed the old stock with the fresh yield to dispose of the wheat already declared unsafe for use, which had been lying in the godowns in Chitral for the last 18 years. The old stock was nearly 15,000 tonnes, sources told Dawn.

A former NWFP food minister, Mr Ghafoor Khan Jadoon, had ordered the disposal of the unhygienic wheat in the river during his visit to Chitral some five years ago, they said, adding the order was never carried out by the department.

In a related development, people of the district on Monday staged a protest demonstration against the adulteration and the sale of substandard wheat in the local market.

They also carried the samples of wheat being sold in the market.

The protesters accused the officials of food department of selling underweight wheat bags.

However, they dispersed peacefully when the local administration assured them of redressing their grievances.

When contacted to ascertain his version, the district food controller admitted that a large quantity of unusable stock of imported wheat was lying in different godowns in the district.

He said that he had been directed by the department’s high- ups to mix the old imported stock with the fresh local yield.

He said that the old stock would be disposed of as and when he received directions from the concerned authorities.