CHITRAL: The people in the flood-affected upper parts of Chitral and Lot Koh and Bumburate valleys have complained about acute shortage of food and clean drinking water.

Flood victims told Dawn over the telephone here from Mulkhow, Reshun, Shoghore and Garam Chashma that they had run out of food items and faced starvation.

They said the roads leading to all calamity-hit areas in Chitral district had been closed and that it might take one to two weeks for their opening to vehicular traffic.

Know more: 20 found dead in flood-hit Chitral

The flood victims said the situation could aggravate, while Mulkhow area stood beleaguered after losing both the two suspension bridges connecting it with the rest of the country.

Member-elect of the district council Maulana Javed Hussain said the recent flash floods had washed away more 50 percent shops in the area, while food items in the rest of the shops had finished.

He said wheat flour was the most sought-after commodity in the area as there was no source to grind wheat although it was available in the grain godown of the food department.

“All watermills have been washed away by the flooding, while petrol and electricity are not available to run power mills,” he said.

The council member said pulses, rice and ghee were also in short supply and could vanish any time in the absence of replenishment.

He said unavailability of clean drinking water was also a major problem as streams had been filled with floodwater rendering their waters highly contaminated.

Hussain said all households were affected by the crisis as they had lost contact with other parts of the country by road three weeks ago.

People of Garam Chashma and Bumburate said they needed adequate quantity of wheat flour as they were unable to grind wheat although it was available in the warehouses of the food department.

The villagers of Reshun hit by the flash floods only a day ago complained about shortage of tents and said they spent days and nights under the open sky.

They said Al-Khidmat Foundation was the first public welfare organisation to reach local residents with tents, edible items and clean drinking water.

Meanwhile, the Pakistan Army canceled its flights with food supplies for the flood-affected Mulkhow area in Chitral due to inclement weather in the area.

Published in Dawn, July 28th, 2015

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