SHANGLA: Passengers coming from Gilgit-Baltistan have complained that they are served with stale food at the hotels along the Karakoram Highway in Bisham.

The Islamabad-bound passengers said on Tuesday that the hotel owners were also charging them extra amount.

“The food served at roadside hotels is hazardous for health. I avoid eating in these hotels because there is no proper check on them by food officials,” Kifayat Wahab, a passenger, said.

He alleged that public transporters were also hand in glove with these hoteliers. The drivers and their crew are given quality food free of cost in these hotels, he said.

Faizan Khan, another passenger, said the hoteliers charged Rs300 for a plate of rice. He said it happened in all the hotels all the way from Skardu to Islamabad.

Sajjad Nabeel Ahmed, another passenger, said a hotel manager charged Rs1,700 for meal from a group of three passengers. He said passengers always insisted on the drivers to stop at outlets offering good foods but they stopped on their own will.

The passengers demanded of the officials concerned to ensure that hoteliers provided quality food in hygienic environment at decent rates.

Published in Dawn, November 14th, 2018