- 500 food packages distributed among people at a Jalsa in Chitral by Afridi came from utility stores godown
- Each package contained one 20 kg wheat flour, five kg sugar, two kg rice and soaps etc worth Rs4,800.
- Packages distributed by Afridi were worth about Rs2,400,000
- Residents say Afrid’s foundation should have arranged the food items from market instead of robbing people of Chitral of their right to purchase the essential items from utility stores at subsidized rates.
CHITRAL: Shahid Afridi almost emptied utility stores godown. The district administration not only arranged a public meeting for Shahid Afridi to distribute food items among deserving people in complete disregard to the coronavirus precautions and Section 144 but also facilitated him in purchasing 500 packages (at subsidized rates) from the utility stores’ godown in Denin, ChitralToday has learnt.
Sources told ChitralToday that the utility stores godown officials were directed to prepare 500 packages for distribution among the deserving people by Shahid Afridi on behalf of his foundation. Each package consisted of one 20 kg wheat flour, five kg sugar, two kg rice etc worth Rs4,800.
The sources said all commodities in he utility stores were arranged by the government on subsidized rates to facilitate he citizens. The federal government recently allocated an additional Rs10 billion to provide more essential items to the stores across the country in the wake of the coronavirus lockdown.
The sources said a 20 kg bag of wheat flour was available at the utility stores for Rs800 while in the open the same bag was selling for Rs1,100 to Rs1,200. Similarly, there was also a big difference in the prices of other items as compared to the markets.
ChitralToday has learnt that the 500 packages handed over to the Shahid Afridi Foundation were worth Rs2.4 million.
Moreover, Afridi also distributed ration among deserving people in a village near Drosh on April 8. That packages were also arranged from the utility store in Drosh.
People in Chitral said Afridi’s charity organization should have arranged the packages from elsewhere as the items in the utility stores were meant for the citizens.
They said by taking away such a huge quantity of essential items the former star cricketer committed a robbery on the right of the ordinary Chitralis to purchase subsidized items from the stores.
They said utility stores in both Lower and Upper Chitral were facing a shortage of essential items and instead of arranging more stocks for the residents hit hard by the lockdown the district administration showed its magnanimity towards the foundation of Afridi.
They demanded that the government should order an inquiry into the matter and take action against those who facilitated Afridi in purchasing the items from the utility stores.