CHITRAL, Jan 31 The residents of Chitral complained that stale and contaminated chicken meat was being sold in the Chitral bazaar in connivance with the food department officials and the local administration.

Talking to this scribe on Saturday the residents said that the carcasses of the chicken were displayed in the open air exposed to dust and other contaminations. They expressed their apprehensions that the carcasses might also include the chicken, which had died on the way, while being transported from Afghanistan to Chitral via Arandu border.

They said that only live chicken were to be sold in the market and according to the rules of the food department, it was forbidden to sell butchered chicken. They alleged that the food department was totally indifferent to its duties and was letting the vendors sell substandard meat to the people at exorbitant prices.

They were of the view that the number of heart patients had increased manifold in the area over the recent time and the consumption of substandard meat was one of the reasons.

Meanwhile, District Coordination Officer (DCO) Chitral Mutasim Billah Shah conducted a surprise raid of the Chitral bazaar here on Saturday and recovered thousands of bags of sugar, rice, pulses and urea fertilizers, which were being hoarded.